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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1976-03-03, Page 14The Ontario Government's present program of closing down hospitals and hospital beds - aimed at saving some $50 mill- ion from the Province's Health Budget - has generated a great deal of controversy, bitterness and attention throughout Ontario. in our Riding, two institutions have been slated for closure. First the Goderich Psychiat- ric Hospital was threatened with the Health Minister's axe. After considerable pressure from myself, Stuart Smith and other Opposition Members - not to mention public outcry - the government back -tracked on this decision to some extent, permitting at least part of the Goderich institution to continue as a psychiatric facility. Now, Clinton Hospital is, according to the Minister of Health, to be phased our of existence. • This cannot be permitted, and I am taking this' opportunity to ask every one of you to make your feelings known in this matter...to write to the Premier, to the Minister of Health, lett- ing then know in no uncertain terms how you - the people conc- erned, the people affected - feel about this outrageous and irresp- onsible decision on the part of the Government. When hospitals are closed and hospital beds are taken out of service it is an admission of poor planning - an admission that somehow we ended up with more hospital beds and facilities than required to service the surround- ing community. It is our belief that in certain parts of the prov- ince we have too many beds, while in others there are too few. Clearly something must be done to ' equalise hospital facil- ities throughout Ontario to some extent. The program cannot be solved by arbitrarily and unfeel- ingly closing down hospitals - selecting the victims with, no real justification or reasonable explanation. By so doing, the Government is, apparently, unconcerned that they are remov- ing vital health services from communities which may, as in the case of the people In the Clinton area, have to travel a great distance to a comparable medical facility. There seem to be no clear cut criteria or objectives in the government's hospital closing program - no standards which nu'st be met, no commun- ity needs taken into consider- ation. • Surely a more sensible appr- oach to reducing hospital over- heads would he to decrease the number of beds in the larger hospitals, and increase over-all hospital efficiency. For some years now, it has been evident that the Provincial Government has made no attempt to follow a clearly-defined or log- ical course for the development of an effective and progressive health care service for Ontario. Enormous amounts of money have been spent building hospit- als and hiring doctors and support staff. No differentiation has been made between the efficient and the inefficient, to concentrate on quality rather than on quantity. In the case of Clinton, the Province has chosen to close down a hospital with the lowest average cost per patient. Average length of stay for patients is comparable with three other hos- pitals in the County and lower than a fourth. The generally low occupancy rate does indicate that there may well be too many hospital beds in the County, but we believe that a reasonable approach would have been for the, Government of Ontario to have sat down with representat- ives from all the hospitals in the area, to inform them that - Jottings by Jack - from Queen's Park as a result of poor planning in the past - there are too many beds and the number must be reduc- ed. It would then have been up to all the hospitals to decide amongst themselves how best to reduce beds and budgets. This would have been a more open and democratic procedure. Instead, the Minister of Health came marching into our small rural town with his group of advisors and handed the hospital administrator the death warrant for our hospital. The Government must realize also that a hospital becomes an integral and vital part of a community - the place where people train and work. People move into communities because of a hospital: lives are organized with the local hospital as a focal point. You cannot close down hospitals in a haphazard fashion, making no provision for present or future patients, or for those who have chosen a specific hospital as the centre of their professional lives. The Provincial Government has absolutely no right to sacrif- ice much needed hospital facil- ities in an effort to put the brakes on rapidly rising medicare costs. In the Liberal Party we are presently preparing a major statement on health costs in gen- eral. This statement will attempt to give what we believe to be a rational and fair alternative to the government's current unfair and unreasonable actions. It will deal with ways of measur- ing efficiency in hospitals, sug- gest methods of improving eff- ectiveness. The question of lab- oratory use will also be examined, as well as methods of reducing -lab expenses. We shall suggest means of ensuring that doctors exercise restraint in connect- ion with tests which are order- ed for patients and the utilizat- ion of medical facilities. Finally, we shall discuss each one of the • proposed hospital closings and our suggested alter- natives in each case. Our paper will attempt to pres- ent a commonsense approach to the question of health costs. Above all we are concerned - deeply concerned - with the imp- act of these major decisions on communities and people through- out Ontario. The • Government's decisions have been announced outside the Legislature, and the elect- ed representatives of the people have had no opportunity to deb- ate them in the House. The fact that these announcements began the day after the Legislature adjourned can certainly not be put 'down to coincidence, and clearly indicates the attitude of the Government to the Legislat- ure and the people of this Prov- ince. It is our strong belief that such important natters must be fully debated in the Legislature and I intend to raise questions in the House about'Goderich and Clinton as soon as the House reconvenes on the 9th of March. I have repeatedly asked for an appointment with the Premier to plead the case of Clinton Hospital, but at this point I have been unable to obtain a com- mitment from his office for such a meeting. I shall continue to pursue this mattr, and hope that it will be possible. to meet with the Premier before the House reconvenes. If not, I am seriously considering calling for an emerg- ency debate. 1n this Riding we are all conc- erned about the future of Clinton. I personally am determined to do everything possible to keep our hospital open, and once again I ask you to do your part - by informing the Provincial Govern- ment in no uncertain terms just how you feel about this import- ant issue. Citizens News, March 3176 - Page 15 Id RE BV ME NEM 1 1 1 FAMILY PAC LEGS or BREASTS STORE SLICED COOKED r 98 KE LB LB ;uul FRESH SHOULDER S.P. END CUT - BY -THE -PIECE 0 .ACK�'. BACON p ^ F � �5,`.te. K $ 48 ■ LB • 1 1 1 1 a a LB �Ial`Qef'CNARGE FOR PROCESSING PRICES EFFECTIVE MARCH 3 TO CLOSING TUES. MAR. 9 WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES vt u;»44.0r 4 4 a ES 2 LB 6 OZ S SCK UTOPI 1 MAT e 28 OZ 5 • • I GARBAGE BAGS • • GLAD 26 x 36 E 998 PACK 20's RICK'S WINE a SA ERKRAUT 58___ ■ SOFT ■ MARGARINE 32 OZ SCHNEIDER' S i 1 LB TUB 58 1 3:;A 2 OZ PALMOLIVE • LIQUID $ � 1 $ DETERGENT •■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ®' CHAPMAN SALL FLAVOURS LARGE WAXED Turnips 10° PRODUCE U.S. NO 1 Cabbage 2/69° CHIQUITA Bananas 181 OPEN MON - THURS 8 - 6/FRIDAYS 8 - 9/ SAT. 8 - 7/CLOSED SUNDAY 238-2512 GRAND BEND