Sir: Rob Devitt is the newly appointed Supervisor of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
Since he’s been on the job for more than a week now, I don’t think it’s too early to ask him to give CKHA’s Sydenham Campus, more fondly known as Sydenham District Hospital (SDH) its own phone.
This is how it’s listed in the phone book for Chatham, Dresden,
Merlin, Port Lambton, Ridgetown, Sombra, Thamesville and Wallaceburg:
HOSPITALS
Chatham-Kent Health Alliance
Chatham Campus 80 Grand W. Chatham 352-6400
Sydenham Campus 325 Margaret 627-1461
When 627-1461 is dialed, the call goes directly into Chatham, then rerouted to Wallaceburg’s SDH. It’s a waste of time, and in an emergency could be the difference between life and death.
Also, just “325 Margaret,” without designating that that is Wallaceburg, is confusing for people unknown to the area.
These days, every kid over 10 has a cellphone, and us oldies have landlines and cellphones. It’s high time SDH got its own phone.
Even Blue Water Health’s Charlotte Eleanor Englehart hospital in little Petrolia (population 3,000) has its own phone system.
This is no way to welcome the new supervisor, I know. Nevertheless, Walpole Island, St. Clair Township and Chatham-Kent are glad you’ve come.
Anne Stewart
Wallaceburg
