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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-07-12, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2000. Ambulance debate brings full house to county council Huron County Council, Thursday, decided to adopt a consultant’s rec­ ommendation that will reduce the number of ambulance stations in the county from six to four, a move that displeased many in the packed pub­ lic gallery. The option, aimed at providing coverage based on population densi­ ty, would see the Seaforth and Clinton stations combined and locat­ ed on Hwy. 8, either between the two towns or at the east side of Clinton, and the Zurich and Dashwood sta­ tions combined and moved closer to Exeter. The plan does nothing to address the fact that nearly one-third of Grey Twp., a significant part of Howick Twp. and the northwest comer of Ashfieid are not within the 15- minute travel time set as the criteria for the redesign of the system. (The eastern areas will be within that trav­ el time from Listowel ambulances.) The unhappy people in the gallery, however, were not from northern areas but from central and southern areas unhappy with the loss of sta­ tions. They applauded county coun­ cillors who suggested the advice of doctors and the Huron-Perth Hospitals Partnership should be accepted. Those groups had asked the county to continue to operate ambulances in the current six sites when the county takes over the run­ ning of the system in January. Seaforth Reeve Lin Steffler out­ lined a long chronology of opposi­ tion from various groups, including councils of Goderich and Seaforth, opposed to the change in the number and placement of ambulances. The doctors and hospitals were con­ cerned about the safety of county residents if the ambulance system was changed, she said. She warned against “going against the safety card” in reducing the service. But Jon Hambides of the consult­ should keep the current six- system in place in the mean- Rob Morley, reeve of ing firm of Marshall, Macklin, Monaghan/Pomax Inc., said the option based on population density meets the concerns of the physicians and hospitals. “We’d be pleased to hear anything definitive on how the population density model will impact adversely on safety,” he said. He termed as “subjective” those statements that the public would be endangered. But Steffler suggested there was a need for everyone involved in healthcare to sit down at the table and discuss the issue and said the county station time. But Usbome, said he felt the issue of location of stations was overblown. “A station is where you hang your hat when you come to work,” he said pointing out that ambulances are already often parked “on call” between two towns to provide cover­ age to both. Brian McBurney, reeve of Tumberry, also pointed out that “the system we inherited isn’t perfect. If you live in Lakelet (in Howick) you’re paying the same taxes with ambulances 18 miles apart as you are in Zurich” (where Zurich and Dashwood stations are six or seven miles apart). But Steffler argued again for con­ tinuation of the current set-up. “We can operate the current system into 2001 and we can take the time to gather data to make sure people are getting the best service,” she said. She won support from Mason Bailey, reeve of Blyth who said there seemed to be a consensus of opinion from the medical community to keep the system the way it was. He also criticized those who insisted council needed to get on with making changes. “It’s been suggested we make changes before a succeeding 9 ' ' i'&r HURON COUNTY AMBULANCE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY LEGEND Existing Huron County Ambulance Station Proposed Ambulance Station Ambulance Station in Adjacent County 15 Minute Response Time Contour ! Note: The existing ambulance stations in Huron County would be closed ■■i FIGURE 3 <MODEL BASED ON POPULATION DENSITY COVERAGE I •• ... council gets a chance to do it right,” he said. But Robin Dunbar, reeve of Grey argued that “right now, the system makes no sense. I certainly don’t believe we need more studies. If you read the (consultants’) report the information is there.” Hambides said the recommenda­ tion in his report does not change the number of ambulances on duty, just Lucan r a, /./ J. ^tR+tllf -U'l r, their base stations. There will be fur­ ther study when the county is actual­ ly operating the stations to see if there can be a more efficient use of resources. In a recorded vote the council decided by a 50-5 count to go ahead with the population density option. Having accepted the four-site option, county council will now call / A"'v' .Stratford | for ‘^expressions of interest” from current operators or from hospitals to provide the stations. The county also voted to ask the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to provide com­ plete costs of the operation of ambu­ lances in Huron County including those costs contained within hospital budgets and contracts with private operators. MOH worried about Huron ’s potential for water problem j^t Oldfield's you'll find the perfect gift for every occasion Could a Walkerton E. coli water tragedy happen in Huron County? Dr. Beth Henning, acting medical office of health told county council, Thursday, that she has concerns about several issues. Dr. Henning, who said she has been harping on the subject of water quality to the board of health for two or three years, said she is concerned about three issues, water security, risk of contamination and actions that should be taken. Regarding water security, the doc­ tor said little is known about the sta­ tus of wells and well heads in most of the county since the health unit only receives samples if there is con­ tamination. “The security of the wells themselves deserves attention but this is an enormous undertak­ ing,” her report said. “There are hun­ dreds of communal wells in our county which should be assessed.” In addition, she said, the protocols for chlorination of water should be assessed. Water is at risk from contamina­ tion from agricultural sources, faulty sewage systems and bypasses of municipal sewage systems during heavy rains, she said, Dr. Henning said she had been assured that there is not a high den­ sity of livestock in Huron but that’s based on an average across the coun­ ty. Some areas have much higher populations and in these there can be overloading of soil. And much of the statistical information now available precedes the recent building boom in large livestock bams, Dr. Henning said. “Some of the solutions are not complicated,” she said. “It astounds me that we are still dealing with them,” pointing to the problems of cattle not being fenced off from streams. Whatever the source of water problems, the evidence there is a problem is ample, she said. Six of 18 county beaches tested regularly last year had E. coli readings above the provincial standards for swimming more than 50 per cent of the time. On the issue of taking action. Dr. Henning said Huron County- had made an excellent presentation to the hearings into intensive livestock conducted by MPP Douglas Galt. Although a report from those hear­ ings has not been issued, she expects some of the recommendations from Huron would be adopted by Gait’s committee. The aquifer study being conducted in Huron will give more information on the health of the ground-water system, Dr. Henning said. The county needs to look at the safety of communal wells and aban­ doned wells, she said. While much of the focus on water problems is on agriculture. Bob Szusz, reeve of Hullett, expressed his concerns with malfunctioning municipal water systems that dump large amounts of raw sewage into Lake Huron. Klaus Seeger, senior public health inspector, admitted Goderich had had problems this year with the fre­ quent storms. The town has spent a lot of money trying to cure the prob­ lem of excess surface water going into the sanitary sewer system and overwhelming the sewage treatment facilities, he said, and last year there was only one such occurrence. This year there have been more such problems. Huron aids Walkerton Huron County’s Health Unit helped neighbours in Bruce cope with the extra workload in the wake of the Walkerton E. coli tragedy, Dr. Beth Henning, acting medical officer of health, told the county council, July 6. Laura Farrell, an environmental health officer with the health unit has been assisting the Bruce Grey Health Unit with outbreak control for four weeks, Dr. Henning said. As well, five to seven staff have helped out conducting epidemiolog­ ic investigations in Walkerton. Concern caused by the Walkerton situation has inundated the health unit with extra work. Normally there are about four water samples processed per week but 1,500 water sampling kits have been handed out since the crisis hit the news. 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