TORONTO and NIAGARA, Ontario, June 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Wednesday, the day before the Minden emergency department was closed permanently, the Niagara Health System revealed plans to close the Urgent Care Centres at the Fort Erie and Port Colborne hospitals from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. beginning July 5, a move they say is to address staffing shortages. However, the Niagara Health System, which is the amalgamated hospital corporation, also says the move is “permanent”. Local community members with the Ontario Health Coalition are travelling to Queen’s Park on Tuesday to demand that the Ford government take action to stop the closures.
What: Press Conference to demand that the Ford government stop the overnight closures of the Urgent Care Centres in the South Niagara Hospitals
When: Tuesday, June 6 at 12:30 p.m.
Where: Queen’s Park Press Gallery, Main Legislative Building, Ontario Legislature, Toronto
Who: Local advocates: Heather Kelly Fort Erie SOS group, Niagara Health Coalition; Sue Hotte, Niagara Health Coalition. The local advocates will be joined by residents from the region who will attend Question Period. Niagara MPPs Wayne Gates, Niagara Falls (and Fort Erie) and Jeff Burch, Niagara Centre (inclu. Port Colborne and Welland) will join the local advocates at the press conference.
Despite the fact that the hospitals in Niagara are overwhelmed, overcrowded, often operating at more than 100% capacity and do not have excess capacity, there have been repeated attempts to close the hospitals in Port Colborne, Fort Erie and Welland. After a major fight-back, the communities, working with the Ontario Health Coalition, were able to save their hospitals but the inpatient acute care services and emergency departments in the two most southern sites were closed. Upon the closure of the emergency departments in Fort Erie and Port Colborne, “Urgent Care Centres” were opened at the local hospitals to provide 24/7 care to those communities.
Fort Erie and its surrounding communities of Ridgeway and Crystal Beach have a population of at least 45,000 people. Its hospital dates back to 1931. Port Colborne and its nearby community of Wainfleet has a population of at least 27,000. Their hospital dates back to 1924. In the summer the population increases dramatically. These communities have only small taxi companies with limited or no taxi coverage at night. There is no nighttime bus or public transit service. The Niagara Region has already shouldered the burden of massive cost increases in EMS as a result of the centralization and cuts to local hospital services across the peninsula. Ambulance offload delays are severe. The communities have not been consulted on the plan to close their services.
For more information: Sue Hotte, Niagara Health Coalition 905-932-1646 cell and Natalie Mehra, executive director, Ontario Health Coalition 416-230-6402 (cell).
