HOSPITAL RALLY TO SUPPORT SMMH BEING PLANNED AHEAD OF MAY 8 SIT-DOWN SET TO
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — The first casualty of war is truth.
And the war over Muskoka health care is a prime example — or be it said a primary care example.
Every story has two sides and until the victor writes this hospitals history (MAHC has already begun with its own journey website as has SSMH) the finger-pointing continues with pointed back-and-forths and damning defences.
Just over a week out from another sit-down set to between south Muskoka doctors and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare operators, the rubber gloves are off again.
“MAHC has put out their latest note citing ‘misinformation’ with what we see as ‘misinformation,’ write Dan and Cindy Waters.
The two drivers behind petitions calling for the MAHC board to resign, say in a weekly Monday morning missive today: “We’ve been sifting through the history of our hospitals and the more we do that, the more we believe it isn’t so much the hospitals that need work — it is the management of them.
“We really haven’t advanced over the years. Millions of dollars have been wasted in trying to come up with a different hospital system that will serve Huntsville and south Muskoka.”
They ask: “Why is MAHC working on reinventing the wheel? And why are we paying them for it?”
To them, “there are more people carrying clip boards and sitting in meetings for hours and hours than is necessary.
We need nurses and doctors, two hospitals that service their communities with emergency rooms and staffing, obstetrics, general surgery, imaging, labs, pharmacies and patient rooms, which we have them in place.
“The expensive equipment is often purchased by our foundations.”
For the Waters this current battle was fought by Huntsville and south Muskoka in the past and “we’re doing the same fight now, only the tables have been turned between the two hospital sites.”
They add: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to have full services where they are now for our families. And we need patient care rooms in those facilities so that families don’t need to travel excessive distances to help care for their loved ones. Building new hospitals, one bigger and one smaller for growing populations in both areas that will need them will only result in losses of every kind in our communities.
“South Muskoka says no to fewer beds in the same way Huntsville said no to “site B.”
According to them, when Barrie’s Royal Victoria Hospital was planned, they built rooms that didn’t see patients for years. But they knew the need would arise because they were planners who knew that we’re going to get old and we’re going to get sick and we need to prepare.
Said Dan Waters: “I spoke to a doctor recently who thanked us for keeping up our fight and standing strong because he sees the numbers every single day for the two hospitals and south Muskoka always exceeds the number of patients needing hospital care.
“While Huntsville may see a lot of patients because MAHC has arranged eye surgeries in Huntsville, dialysis in Huntsville, paediatric visits in Huntsville, more obstetrics care in Huntsville, cancer care in Huntsville, stroke care in Huntsville; south Muskoka’s hospital sees more patients needing care in hospital beds every single day.
“It most certainly makes you wonder who is planning and what the plan really is.
The Waters say they will be gathering in “support of our doctors before their May 8 meeting with MAHC. Details to come.”
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