Minden and Chesley, Ont. residents fight to save their hospital's futures
The parallel between emergency department closures in two communities hundreds of kilometres away has brought residents from each to fight against it.
On Friday, Minden, Ont. residents visited Chesley, Ont., where the community's emergency department cut back on 24/7 care to operate on weekdays only from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
At the time, the South Bruce Grey Health Centre decided to combat rolling daytime and overnight closures at the hospital that had been in place since 2019.
"We only have part-time ER services," said Brenda Scott, co-chair of the Chesley Hospital Community Support group. "We're concerned that signals the potential end to our hospital."
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
It's a similar story in Minden, only tenfold.
The community is set to lose its emergency department on June 1, when it will be consolidated into Haliburton's hospital.
'Save Minden ER' coalition co-chairs Richard Bradley and Patrick Porzuczek made the trek to Chesley on Friday to meet with its residents and to share their own stories.
"This is a community of not necessarily the highest income people that don't have vehicles to travel to another hospital," Bradley told CTV News. "The other hospital is about 25 minutes away. Well, that sounds a whole lot like us."
A statement from the Ministry of Health echos what the Ford government has been saying since Minden's Emergency Department closure was first announced.
"Hospitals are independent corporations who are authorized to direct their own operations, including decisions respecting services that they provide and in what locations; the Ministry of Health is not involved in these decisions, and to suggest so is false," it reads. "What the NDP fails to understand is this consolidation was made by Haliburton Highlands Health Services board and leadership, as they are responsible for daily operational decisions. It is not a closure."
Residents and Ontario's opposition party argue that it is, in fact, closing.
"All that will be left is an x-ray and bone density scanner," said Chris Glover, MPP for Spadina-Fort York. "I don't know how the government defines a hospital, but when they say they're not closing the hospital, it doesn't add up with the facts."
The Ford government added that some existing services would remain in place following June 1.
If they cannot prevent the closure, Bradley and Porzuczek say they won't rest until the decision is overturned.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'