Grey County Warden Brian Milne didn’t mince words when offering his thoughts on the sudden announcement that in-patient beds would be transferred away from the hospital in Durham.
After county council’s meeting on April 25, Milne had lots to say about the April 24 announcement by South Bruce Grey Health Centre (SBGHC) that 10 beds from the Durham hospital in West Grey would be transferred to other hospital sites the corporation runs.
“It’s very upsetting to see that announcement,” said Milne. “At least from a county perspective, there was zero consultation. And to get blindsided with something like that, that’s going to have a huge impact on the community is very disappointing.”
The hospital corporation’s announcement that the 10 beds would leave Durham for hospitals in Walkerton and Kincardine in June weighed heavily on the minds of county councillors at the meeting. The county has an ambulance base and a long-term care home in Durham, both of which actively are served by the Durham Hospital.
The hospital corporation announced that while the inpatient beds would be leaving, nursing staff would continue to work at the site to support the emergency department being open each day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This decision has been made with our community and the patients we serve at the top of mind, with no impact to jobs,” said Nancy Shaw, CEO and President of SBGHC, in a statement. “Our priority is to ensure the delivery of safe and high-quality care, and we will continue to work with both the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health to ensure services are maintained across all SBGHC sites.”
In a subsequent interview with Bayshore News, Shaw said there are no plans to close the hospital in Durham and that the beds were being moved due to an ongoing staff shortage the hospital has been experiencing for some time.
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West Grey Mayor Kevin Eccles brought the issue to the council table and it was clear county officials had been caught off guard by the sudden announcement.
Eccles called on county council to express its concerns through the Warden about the removal of the beds and the impacts the decision will have on county services in that area.
CAO Kim Wingrove said the county would be investigating the situation.
“We can ask some very specific questions and raise some very specific concerns about what this means,” she said.
Kevin McNab, the county’s director of paramedic services and Jennifer Cornell, the county’s director of long-term care also shared their thoughts on the situation.
McNab said county paramedics take patients to the Durham emergency department on a regular basis. He said the closure of the ER at night has led to slower response times because paramedics must transport patients to hospitals farther away. McNab said they have to examine what it means to take a patient to an emergency department at a hospital that can’t admit patients.
“What does that do to our resources?” said McNab. “There are definitely things and considerations to look at.”
Cornell said it was too early to determine the impacts the changes at the hospital would have on Rockwood Terrace, the county’s long-term care home in Durham.
Cornell said Rockwood Terrace has a relationship with the physicians working at Durham hospital to provide after-hours care to the home’s residents.
“We need to follow up on that,” she said.
In his comments, Milne also pointed the finger at the provincial government and the Ministry of Health for the situation.
The warden acknowledged that the decision to move the beds was an operational one by the hospital corporation, but suggested underfunding was the prime reason. Milne noted that hospital corporations are not allowed to run a deficit without a special waiver from the province and he pointed out that this year 90 per cent of hospitals have requested the waiver.
“I see the province’s hand in this. That’s my personal observation,” he said. “(Hospitals) just simply cannot continue to provide the same services they have for a one per cent increase from the ministry when inflation’s running six per cent. I can see how very much their hand has been forced because their costs have continued to escalate and yet they’re not getting sufficient funding. Something has to give.”
