Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital
Monday, April 28, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
Smitherman Refuses to Meet Friends -
Durham Solution Required
"Despite repeated requests, George Smitherman, Minister
of Health and Long Term Care, has refused to meet with the
Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital concerning the proposed
transfer of twenty mental health in-patient beds from Ajax
Pickering Hospital to Scarborough Centenary Hospital, and the
cancellation of a promised nine additional mental health care
beds in the Phase One Redevelopment Plan", stated
Bill Parish, Co-Chair, Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital.
The Friends have worked diligently with MPP's Joe Dickson and
Wayne Arthurs to arrange such a meeting, but with no success.
In 1998 when the Ajax Pickering Hospital was amalgamated with
Scarborough Centenary to form the Rouge Valley Health System,
the people of Ajax, Pickering and Whitby were promised at that
time that the Ajax Pickering Hospital would retain all its
hospital services, and those services would grow as hospital
needs and population grew. The population of Ajax,
Pickering and Whitby now exceeds 300,000, yet the RVHS, The
Central East Local Health Integration Network, and Minister
Smitherman are repeatedly attempting to strip key core
services from Ajax Pickering and send them to Scarborough
Centenary. First in 2005, it was obstetrics and
paediatrics; now it's mental health beds and services.
What is next? And next?
The Friends strongly believe that the people must stop the
migration of core local hospital services from Durham Region
to Scarborough. Scarborough has three hospitals, and as
a part of Toronto has a plethora of hospital services, and
easy access to them.
It is the Region of Durham with its huge population growth
that requires strong community hospitals to provide all those
core local hospital services that families and seniors, and
everyone require close to home, and with easy access.
Durham residents demand a Durham solution for mental
health care, and all other hospital and health care services.
In addition, in this current process a provincial law has been
broken. Before this plan to transfer mental health beds
was approved and announced, there was absolutely no prior
consultation with patients, local residents, doctors, or
employees by the RVHS, or the Central East LHIN as required by
the Local Hospital Services Integration Act. Minister
Smitherman has permitted the RVHS Board and the Board of the
Central East LHIN to violate and ignore an Ontario law.
the present after-the-fact consultation has been a farce - a
joke. "How can we allow this to happen in a society
that is supposed to be based on the rule of law?"
Parish declared.
The Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital again urge the
Minister to meet with them, and to reverse the decision to
take twenty-nine mental health beds from the Ajax Pickering
Hospital. This is the only way to preserve and enhance
the quality of mental health care at Ajax Pickering Hospital.
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Time of release - Monday, April 28, 2008
Contact for further information - Bill Parish, Co-Chair,
Friends of the Ajax Pickering Hospital, (905) 683 2003
