What happened to the staff?

Whenever we talk about Saving Our Hospital we hear that its just no use, there is not enough staff to work. Have you not ever wondered what happened to all the people that worked in our system before? Did they all retire or quit at the same time? Was no one in Canada taking medical programs in any of our colleges or Universities?

I know I have often wondered if the private sector has had such success taking people out of the public workforce and yet still accepting money from our OHIP system just what makes them so profitable to afford to take so many away. Are people leaving just to have a 9-5 job, what do they do when their family member is sick and needs a hospital open 24/7? Does everyone have their own transportation to run to the Doctor, run for tests, run for physio, run for follow-up, run for treatment?

We understand that a career in medicine can be very time consuming and that is experienced right from the start. We appreciate that not everyone can make this a career decision and there is a lot of decision making that goes into having a medical career. We understand that having a work/life balance is crucial for everyone but there are times when the needs of the many take precedence over the needs of the few. We saw how hard all of you worked during the pandemic and we know that many of you along with many patients and families suffered tragic loss because we became too complacent in thinking that the help we need is nearby.

Often a business when looking at future needs will make cuts to programs and staff to try to keep the books balanced and to save resources. This may work well for a typical business but not so well in our healthcare system. We can’t predict healthcare needs of individuals, just as we can’t predict how future growth in a town or city will affect all of the current resources that we provide. Taking away an entire hospital, taking away hospital beds means taking away nurses and doctors and other staff. Beds may be available but there is no one to staff them. When staff is furloughed or laid off they look for other work and depending on the length of time they may even find more permanent work in other locations.

We should not be shutting down hospitals and other healthcare facilities but rather putting together a plan to help our small rural towns and villages find the help they need to keep running. We want to remain in our public healthcare system and we understand that the government has built a number of new hospitals; however this has been to the detriment of the small community hospitals that have kept the public safe in their own towns and have protected the large urban centers from being over-run.

The small community hospital is central to the locations that they serve. They have provided safe haven for many that do not have a General Practitioner that they can rely on and they have kept our local areas serviced and provided good paying, secure jobs for our futures. Ontario has the second lowest number of total hospital beds per 1,000 population in Canada at 2.28* (Source CIHI Hospital Stays in Canada 2023)

We know that taking away beds, reduces staff and causes overflow conditions in Acute Level of Care and in Emergency Rooms. Opening new hospitals does not alleviate the situation for many that cannot get tot he care they need or they choose not to go for the care they need because of family obligations or needs. When we become sick and require around the clock care we need to provide for the whole person and their needs, we need to ensure that family or friends are able to help or assist in the recovery.

Fort Erie Council would like to ensure that Douglas Memorial meets the needs of the community and also supplements the needs of the current health care system that is overflowing. The wait times for diagnostics and surgeries is sometimes beyond the capacity for those in need. We see so many utilizing gofundme programs to pay for healthcare in other jurisdictions. We know the longer we wait the more damage is being done both physically and mentally.

Ontario says they are opening the number of educational seats, lets open the beds. Fort Erie has a number of beds, now we need the staff to take care of us. We have always competed for medical professionals and we have a great deal to offer; around Canada we need to stop putting healthcare on the back burner, we need to work together to make sure that the needs of our communities are taken care of and that our sick and infirmed receive the care that we all need to create a healthy society.

The Federal Government is back in session and we need to make sure that they protect and save the Canada Health Act and the Canada Health Transfer if sufficiently funded.

The Provincial Government will go back into session Oct 16th +/- and again we have to be ready with a business proposal that they will consider for the fall legislature. We need to make sure they are aware that we are prepared to work within our community to provide funding to support the purchase of equipment et al to help SAVE OUR HOSPITAL

Like the West Lincoln Memorial, like the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital, like the Humber River Hospital, like Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, like Wilson Memorial General Hospital, like Lions Head Health Services, and more. Each providing the care in the community and each helping to alleviate the long road into larger city centers. We know not everyone wants to be seen in a smaller care center and that does not stop them from going directly into the large center. We know that we may end up having to go into the large urban areas and we want to make sure they are focused on the big needs of their patients.

We can provide alternate level of care beds to fill the gaps for the large hospitals that have their beds filled while patients wait for home care or long term care beds to become available. Not all homes are equipped for home care, not all patients have planned on long term care needs. Lets provide the services needed in our local community centers.

Have a thought or an opinion; let us know. Want to sign the petition or take a lawn or window sign give us a call. We are all in this together. Want to volunteer we can always use your help with our community events.