Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital

68 Hills Road, Ajax, Ontario L1S 2W4

June 3, 2008

Chair Roger Anderson and Members of Council

Region of Durham

Regional Headquarters

605 Rossland Road East

Whitby, Ontario

L1N 6A3

Dear Chair Anderson and Members of Council,

As you know the Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital have been working diligently and tirelessly over the past weeks to prevent the transfer of twenty Mental Health beds from Ajax Pickering to Scarborough Centenary, and to restore the nine Mental Health beds promised for inclusion in the Phase I Redevelopment. During this time the Friends have had the tremendous support of thousands of residents of Ajax, Pickering and Whitby. In addition, the Councils of Ajax, Pickering, Whitby and the Region of Durham all unanimously endorsed the Town of Ajax Resolution which so cogently set out not only the opposition to the transfer of the Mental Health beds, but also stated the continuing very negative effects for the Ajax Pickering Hospital resulting from the 1998 amalgamation with Scarborough Centenary.

As part of our efforts to stop the transfer of the Mental Health beds, the Friends sought the assistance of our M.P.P.’s, Joe Dickson and Wayne Arthurs, to get a meeting with George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long Term Care. When the M.P.P.’s failed to arrange such a meeting, the Friends wrote directly to Minister Smitherman. The Minister neither replied to our letter, nor met with the Friends. In not meeting with the Friends it must be obvious to all that the RVHS Board, and the Central East LHIN are carrying out the government’s and the Minister’s policies. The Minister is using hospital boards and the LHIN’s to implement government and ministry policies; then hides behind them stating that the Boards and LHINs are making local decisions.

Also as everyone must be aware the Central East LHIN’s “thirty day consultation period” was a farce. As the days went by it became abundantly clear that the Central East LHIN never had any intention of reconsidering the transfer of the twenty Mental Health beds, or the restoration of the nine additional promised beds.

The following are some quotations from the Central East LHIN’s publication “A Framework for Community Engagement and Local Health Planning” (2006):

“That people who are impacted by a decision or course of action, have the rightful opportunity to share and form the decision or action before it takes place” (p 4 & 5); “Engage the end-user in the planning process as they are the most knowledgeable about their needs, experience and satisfaction .....” (P2); “The Central East LHIN will spread ownership through involvement.” (P3); “Enhance local responsiveness and accountability” (P3); “To work directly with the community to ensure that community concerns are consistently understood and considered” (P4). With respect to our recent experiences with the Mental Health beds these fine words have proven to be deceptive, misleading and false. As far as the Friends are concerned the Central East LHIN, its Board and its employees have lost all credibility. Consequently, the Friends believe that the Ajax Pickering Hospital is in exactly the same situation that existed in December 2005 when the RVHS Board attempted to transfer obstetrics and paediatrics from Ajax Pickering to Scarborough Centenary. At that time the Region of Durham took the decisive action of unanimously passing a resolution on December 14, 2005 urging “the Board of the Rouge Valley Health System to reconsider transferring obstetrical, paediatric and related services from its Ajax Pickering site to its Centenary site and otherwise honour its commitment to provide full hospital services to the residents of Ajax, Pickering and Whitby;” ....... and .......”that the Region of Durham withhold its $3.5 million commitment for the capital expansion of the Ajax Pickering site until such time as the Region of Durham is satisfied as to the services provided at the Ajax Pickering site”.

Attached to this letter is a complete copy of the Region of Durham Resolution of December 14, 2005.

Therefore, as the situation in June 2008 with respect to Mental Health beds is precisely the same as the obstetrics and paediatrics crisis of December 2005, the Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital request the Council of the Region of Durham to adopt a motion similar to that of 2005 as follows:

1. That the Region of Durham request the RVHS Board and the Central East LHIN Board to reconsider the transfer of the twenty Mental Health beds from Ajax Pickering Hospital to Scarborough Centenary, and to restore the nine new Mental Health beds promised in the Phase I Redevelopment, and otherwise honour the 1998 commitment to provide full hospital services at Ajax Pickering for the residents of Ajax, Pickering and Whitby;

2. and that the Region of Durham withhold the balance of its $3.5 million commitment to the capital expansion of the Ajax Pickering site until such a time as the Region of Durham is satisfied as to the hospital services to be provided at the Ajax Pickering Hospital including the Mental Health beds.

Furthermore, the Friends strongly believe that the transfer of Mental Health beds is only the beginning of the transfer of more and more local hospital services from Ajax Pickering to Scarborough Centenary as more integration policies, the Peer Review Report, and the Clinical Services Plan are implemented. In September 2008, the new Birthing Centre built at Scarborough Centenary will open. This is the Birthing Centre that should have been located at the Ajax Pickering Hospital where the population growth is. Consequently, the question arises: With the opening of the new Birthing Centre, will the RVHS Board and the Central East LHIN transfer obstetrics and paediatrics from Ajax Pickering to Scarborough Centenary? The Friends fear that this will happen. The next questions are: What exactly are the hospital services that the Ajax Pickering Hospital will be providing for our growing communities? What is the future role and status of the Ajax Pickering Hospital? The people of our communities deserve definite, straight, honest answers to these questions and now. In our view, it is about time that the tax payers of Ontario were given the opportunity for full democratic participation in the selection of their hospital boards and their LHIN boards, so that they can influence hospital policies.

Finally, why should the property tax payers of Durham Region continue to donate their taxes for capital expansion at the Ajax Pickering Hospital while at the same time the RVHS Board and the Central East LHIN Board are transferring core local hospital services needed by Durham residents to Scarborough? Why should Durham taxpayers donate their taxes when their concerns are ignored and rebuffed by Boards that are not accountable to the people?

Thank you for your consideration of our request concerning core local hospital services for Durham residents and taxpayers.

Sincerely,

Yvonne Bosch                   Bill Parish

Co-Chair                            Co-Chair

Attached/ Region of Durham Resolution, December 14, 2005

copy/ Mayor Steve Parish and Council, Town of Ajax

Mayor Dave Ryan and Council, City of Pickering

Mayor Pat Perkins and Council, Town of Whitby