SSMH PLANS RALLIES TO SUPPORT SMMH THIS SATURDAY AND WENESDAY MAY 8
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — Two public rallies to show support for South Muskoka Memorial Hospital are planned this weekend and next Wednesday.
Save South Muskoka Hospital (SSMH) members are calling for another huge turnout Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m., at Memorial Park in downtown Bracebridge; and on Wednesday, May 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Utterson Community Hall where doctors and MAHC officials are to meet a third time to discuss future hospital sizes in south Muskoka and Huntsville.
SMMH’s announcement comes today, May 1, on ‘National Physicians” Day.
The SSMH urges residents to attend with their family and friends — and want to “see a large friendly crowd in a show of community support for the physicians.”
#1 Community Gathering
When: Saturday May 4, 10-11 a.m.
Where: Memorial Park in Bracebridge (next to Norwood Theatre)
#2 Community Gathering
When: Wednesday May 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: Utterson Community Hall
Wednesday’s meeting is closed to the public, “but we’ll be visible as a show of unity,” says a press release today.
It says: Hello community. As all know, we are in the fight of our lives (literally) ensuring south Muskoka has access to the acute care services it requires.
“The history of the hospital, located in Bracebridge, is extensive. The community, the care providers, the hospital and its board, the foundations and even politicians have historically ensured the residents of south Muskoka have access to a fully functioning acute care hospital.”
They say MAHC’s Capital Re-Development plan “sees the existing hospital administration and its board trying to change how and where we access the care we’ve come to trust and rely upon.”
The story to date …
The progress of the Capital Redevelopment plan as SSMH sees it so far:
The board first produced a redevelopment plan that would have seen South Muskoka Memorial Hospital shrink to an ambulatory care site with (14) transitional care beds. Admitted patients would have to await transfer to a mega Huntsville site. There was a loss of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and obstetrics was eliminated. This news shocked the community.
“We continue to protest, including the signing of two petitions — one presented in April to the Ontario legislature with 7,000 names on it.”
There were 42 physicians, led by Dr. Rohit Gupta, who wrote a letter to the hospital and its board to advise the proposed plan was not good for the residents in the communities. This physician group then set out to do their own research and planning with other care providers. As a collective, they presented an alternate ‘Care Close to Home’ plan to the hospital board for consideration.
Two meetings held thus far with the physician group resulted in MAHC changing the plan. The acute care beds being considered now for SMMH is 36; with 1 obstetrics bed returning along with four 4 of the 5 currently operating ICU beds.
The plan did not see any changes made to all ambulatory surgery, outpatient clinics and testing (e.g. fracture clinic, chemotherapy clinic, diagnostics imaging/x-ray etc.) site locations.
All outpatient remains accessible only at the South Muskoka site. All ALC (alternate level of care) beds in the plan will only be at the Huntsville site.
“Everyone can quickly see the travel implications that are being intentionally built into a flawed plan.”
Even though diagnostics (with the exception of the MRI) and operating rooms are to be built at each site, there would be requirement to travel.
“The physicians are attending a final meeting May 8. They stand firm that South Muskoka requires — at a minimum — 54 acute care beds.
“The physicians require the community’s show of support! We stand united behind these physicians.”
Our Demands For Answers:
The hospital repeatedly advises they are listening to its physicians, staff, volunteers and the community.
“Yet, when we continue to seek full transparency, they decline our requests for information” — without paying exorbitant processing fees.
Examples include the following:
– Data that was used for decision support and the creation of the plan, including finance numbers.
– Disclosure if modelling and testing of the plan was conducted and a request to share this information. Does the plan have a list of assumptions? Can we see them?
– Site selection: can the Board explain why the Fowler site was selected when it wasn’t determined to be the preferred site by the engineering consultants and the hospital’s Capital Redevelopment Committee.
– Transportation: we want to know the costs of transportation for plan. What are the projected costs of transporting patients between the sites? What are the projected transportation costs of supporting the patients and family who require transportation? Example: a patient is ALC and is an inpatient at the Huntsville site. How is the elderly partner or spouse of this patient supported with transportation if they do not have any other means to travel? We need to know the costs operationally of what is being planned and if the annual operating costs for transportation outweigh the savings of beds and services being only available at one site or the other.
SSMH asks that if you have any questions, to contact a member of their group below:
Phyllis Winnington-Ingram [email protected];
Dan Waters [email protected];
Frankie Dewsbury [email protected];
Jaymie Brasi [email protected];
Tom Young [email protected]
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