Health care

There doesn’t come a day when we’re not hearing the news that healthcare services are going to be unavailable in our province.

For those who are relatively healthy, I suspect that it’s passed off as yet another sad moment.

But then, what is a person to do when you do need assistance?

As a citizen, you become reliant and expect that you have a certain level of service. That’s not always the case.

The numbers in this article just astound me.

We calculated the number of Ontario’s ER closures this summer. Here’s what we found

While I’ve moved away, it does hit me between the eyes when I hear that Clinton, Wingham, Seaforth, St. Marys, and Chesley all have experienced emergency department shutdowns. I actually had to go to emergency once when I was changing a chlorine tank at a swimming pool where I was working. In my case, Seaforth Hospital was just across the road and easily accessible for me.

What would I have done if that emergency department had been closed? True, there were other hospitals close but I would have had to go to the closest to find out that it was closed and then zoom to another which I’d hope would have been open.

If it happened today and if I thought to check the CKNX website, I would have known.

https://blackburnnews.com/midwestern-ontario/midwestern-ontario-news/2022/10/21/seaforth-community-hospital-closing-overnight-reduced-weekend-hours/

Photo by Adhy Savala on Unsplash

From a Southwestern and Western Ontario perspective, it seems that Chesley Hospital is the one that is hit hardest and it continues.

Emergency room at Ontario hospital closing until December due to staff shortage

But it’s not just emergency rooms. Sometimes, you need to call for an ambulance for transport. In the news recently, I heard that it was an issue in Guelph. But it hit home here this past week.

County of Essex declares local emergency due to ambulance delays

When I moved to Essex County, there were four hospitals in Windsor and one in Leamington. Through amalgamation of buildings and the destruction of another, the number of places where you can actually go has decreased. If you’re local, you know that there are plans for a super-hospital on the south-east part of the city. The process has dragged on and on.

But all the buildings in the world won’t solve issues until you have people staffing them. One of the things that happens here locally is hospitals in Detroit and beyond hire Canadians to cross the border and work at their facilities. As a province, we have brought in some changes but we still labour with some antiquated ideas of what healthcare could be, I’m told.

Sadly, there really isn’t any word on how this government plans to resolve this. There are little bits here and there but tell that to someone is driving frantically looking for an emergency department that is open.

Stay healthy, my friends.