The decision of Community Living Wallaceburg to oppose a CKHA plan to close the Sydenham District Hospital’s emergency department was simply a matter of principal, according to board president Derek McGiven.
McGiven said CLW, which is responsible for a number of medically vulnerable clients, had never, to his knowledge, been approached about the plan.
“We had family members of those we serve express concern that we needed our opinion to be heard on the matter so the board decided it was time to do so. It’s a matter of principal to us.”
The board sent an open letter to the Erie-St. Clair Local Health Integration Network saying “the plan to be a grievous mistake that may cost the people we support, our employees and our community their health and well-being.”
Community Living Wallaceburg has more than 230 employees and is the community’s largest employer.
It provides 400 individuals and their families throughout Chatham-Kent with services including accommodations as well as community and employment supports.
Approximately 170 clients are served in the immediate Wallaceburg area including those in supported group and independent living in a more than a dozen residences.
“Access to these local health care services has ensured that the people we support receive excellent care; preserving their health, well-being and quality of life,” McGiven states in his letter.
“Our Wallaceburg based organization, through our caring employees, provides an extensive range of services around the clock to a medically vulnerable population.
This population, along with the entire community of Wallaceburg, will suffer immediate and damaging impacts should we lose this essential service.
Without a plan that ensures that a fully functional 24-hour emergency department is available within Wallaceburg, lives will be at risk.”
A full text of the letter can be found here.
The letter was copied to local members of Chatham-Kent council, federal and provincial members of parliament and provincial health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins.
The status of emergency care in Wallaceburg exacerbated a rift between the Sydenham District Hospital board and the boards of Public General and St. Joseph’s hospitals, the three corporations that form the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
When the Wallaceburg board would not endorse Patey’s plan to replace the SDH emergency department with a part-time walk-in clinic with no physicians on site, the Chatham-based board suspended governance in April.
Since that time, the health minister guaranteed 24-hour emergency service in Wallaceburg, a move supported by Walpole Island First Nations and St. Clair Township and a survey undertaken by the Ontario Health Coalition.
Chatham-Kent Council deferred any decision on the matter last month while it waits to hear for input from hospital administrators.
The Chatham portion of the former Alliance has developed a plan with the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres and Canadian Mental Health Association and is seeking $35 million for development of a clinic in Wallaceburg and upgrading the Chatham ER
SDH is preparing a plan for a centralized health facility in Wallaceburg with traditional emergency room capability.
Governance and management of the CKHA is currently under investigation by a provincial appointee in order to assess public confidence in the institution.
LHIN approval is required for any plans.
