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Published date May 12, 2024 • Last updated 44 minutes ago • Reading time 6 minutes
Participants at the Save Healthcare rally on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at Owen Sound City Hall. Photo by Rob Gowan The Sun Times
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Local healthcare collapse and the privatization of services were top concerns for those attending Saturday's rally in Owen Bay.
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The event, held on the steps of City Hall, drew about 50 people who called for action and shared stories about how health care decisions impact the lives of local residents.
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The rally, organized by the Grey-Bruce Health Coalition, was held to send a message to the state government about how privatization is impacting local hospitals, long-term care facilities and the people who depend on them. .
Attendees held placards with slogans such as “People, not profits,” “Save Durham Hospital” and “Privatization is a choice, not a necessity.”
A table where the public can sign up for a bus slot to the May 30th Toronto rally, put their name on an upcoming lawn sign campaign, send a letter to their local MP, or make a donation. was installed. Cause.
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About six speakers, including local coalition co-chairs Brenda Scott and Nora Beatty, addressed the crowd about the challenges faced by the loss of access to and deterioration of the public health system. .
Grey-Bruce Health Coalition Co-Chair Nora Beatty speaks as Co-Chair Brenda Scott looks on at the Save Healthcare Rally on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at Owen Sound City Hall.Photographer: Rob Gowan The Sun-Times
“Healthcare is a very complex issue, and frankly there are so many areas that are underfunded or have funding cuts or both that it's at risk,” Beatty said. “We came here today because of the fact that privatization is the government's choice as the solution, and we don't believe that it is the solution, and we want to strengthen our message. It's not the only solution, of course.
“Privatization will harm all of us except the very wealthy who can afford to pay for it.”
Back in early 2022, the state government announced it would allow private clinics to provide publicly funded tests and procedures, such as cataract surgery and MRIs. This spring, the government will accept applications to expand the number of clinics offering more services, including MRIs, CT scans, gastrointestinal endoscopy, and more orthopedic surgeries such as hip and knee replacements. There is.
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Beatty said she expected a larger crowd Saturday, but she feels their message is getting through. When the Grey-Bruce coalition government took office a little more than a year ago, it took less than two months to hold a referendum asking people whether they supported privatizing healthcare. They called on the 10,000 people of Grey-Bruce to vote, and they voted “no.”
They regularly appear on local radio and television shows, publish articles in local media, distribute thousands of leaflets, and have a growing number of volunteers.
Mr. Scott serves on the Ontario Health Federation's Small and Rural Hospitals Committee. The commission plans to hold consultation hearings across the province in June to gather input from individuals and communities affected by privatization and the closure of local hospital services.
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“It's like any other grassroots organization. It takes time because you're building it from scratch,” Beatty said. “I don't think we're going to lose momentum. We're gaining momentum and we're going to continue to gain momentum.”
Michelle Sim, another speaker on Saturday, shed tears as she spoke of her mother's dependence on Durham's hospital.
On April 25, South Bruce Gray Health Center announced it would move all 10 inpatient beds from Durham Hospital to facilities in Walkerton and Kincardine in June.
Starting June 3, the hospital, which has not operated a night emergency service since March 10, will only see patients who require emergency treatment from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Sim said her mother, Lois Ray, was on home dialysis and relied on Durham Hospital, just minutes away.
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“If something went wrong, they knew exactly what to do. It was like a family in Durham, everyone knew everyone,” Sim said. “If she had to go to Walkerton, she would have died. They kept her alive.”
Ray passed away about two years ago, but Sim still worries about his family in the area, including his stepfather.
“He is in his 80s, in poor health and has suffered a stroke,” Mr Sim said. “What happens if he has a stroke? Where is he going to go? He's not going to go down the street to a hospital in Durham.”
Michelle Sim speaks at a Save Healthcare rally at Owen Sound City Hall on Saturday, May 11, 2024, as West Grey's Mayor Kevin Eccles looks on. Photographer: Rob Gowan The Sun Times
West Gray Mayor Kevin Eccles also spoke at the meeting about the situation at Durham's hospitals.
SBGHC said the inpatient bed move is to alleviate severe staff shortages while providing consistent and predictable care on-site. Due to staffing shortages at SBGHC, ED facilities in Durham, Walkerton, Chesley, and Kincardine have been closed intermittently. Chesley's emergency department has been closed at night since 2019. On Sunday morning, SBGHC announced that Durham Hospital's emergency department would be closed for the day and would reopen at 7 a.m. Monday.
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The Durham community has vowed to fight change, with hundreds of people gathering at a rally at the town's community center on Tuesday. Beatty said the move will transform the facility from a hospital to a daytime acute care facility.
Mr Eccles said Durham was a “prime example” of what was happening in rural health care, but it was important to get the message across that this was not an isolated incident.
“This is going to be a war for rural and northern health care,” Eccles said. “I want people to know more about this wherever I get the chance.”
Mr Eccles said the issue had been simmering below the surface for some time, but awareness needed to be raised before it boiled over, and that would happen soon.
Although the announcement regarding Durham came out of the blue, Mr Eccles said there were warning signs that more thought should have been given by all levels of government before things got this far. Fifty days ago, they learned the emergency department would no longer be open 24/7.
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“In my mind, it's being created, but it's not really happening,” Eccles said of the staffing issue. “There are a lot of medical workers out there looking for work. I hear they are driving taxis.
“My conspiracy is that this is a planned thing that's been going on for years, and we're starting to reach a boiling point here.”
Eccles said he believes the state's ultimate goal is privatization of providing health care in large local facilities. But he said that doesn't work in areas like Grey-Bruce, where small communities are scattered across vast rural areas.
He said hundreds of thousands of people live in urban areas, close to all services, including transportation, and in close proximity to hospitals.
“Once you get into Gray County, you have a community hospital and over 75 percent of the population is 40 or 50 minutes away,” Eccles said.
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“When a major incident occurs, even something of the nature of a heart attack or stroke, you have to be on the scene within the first hour or you’re done. It’s built like this.”
Eccles said he has requested a meeting with Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones and is awaiting a response.
Eccles and other Durham residents boarded a bus to Queen's Park on Wednesday to tell Ford and Jones “face to face” how they felt.
The Ontario Health Coalition and local coalitions across the province will hold a large march and protest from Nathan Phillips Square to Queen's Park starting at noon on May 30th. Those interested in joining the Gray Bruce Health Coalition can access the group through their website: greybrucehc.ca.
A sign is propped up against a tree during a Save Healthcare rally at Owen Sound City Hall on Saturday, May 11, 2024.Photographer: Rob Gowan The Sun-Times
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