Mental Health Division

BROCKVILLE MENTAL HEALTH CENTRE
 

Local 439 to CEO "Step down now."

August 26, 2009

Local 439 President David McDougall submits a letter to the editor in response to the Brockville Mental Health bed closures.

What difference does a year make?

Royal Ottawa Hospital CEO George Weber was recently quoted as saying, "what difference would 12 months make" when referring to his pet project of closing beds and tossing several hundred local residents out of work.

Well George it seems Brockville City Council disagrees with you. They recently passed a unanimous motion directing the Mayor and council to join hands with concerned stakeholders to fight off your self serving career enhancer.

Local MP Gord Brown disagrees. He is on record as supporting OPSEU's plan to stall the closures until either saner heads prevail, public consultation occurs or an alternative use for the site is developed and implemented.

The workers and their families disagree. After all, as you are prone to say, these workers are dedicated, professionals whose patient care is beyond reproach. Those are your words George.

The community hard hit by layoffs, plant closures and a stream of bad economic news disagrees. Your plan George, will suck tens of millions out of our economy. While that may be helpful to real estate speculators, it is another nail into the coffin of a once vibrant community.

Patients and their families disagree knowing full well that community placement for mental health patients means that unnamed faces are out on the street left to fend for themselves.

Law enforcement disagrees because they know where these patients who fall through the cracks end up (jail) and what they do to get there.

Only Bob Runciman agrees. No surprise. It was his government that accepted the recommendations of their own Healthcare Restructuring Commission to close the BPH. To add insult, it was his government who contracted with the Royal Ottawa Hospital to divest BPH from the public sector. An Ottawa hospital running a Brockville site; who would have thought that the administration would move our funding there? Now he touts some plan about a female treatment unit moving in. Only problem is the Ministry of Correctional Services has no such plan despite apparent bafflegab from you and your former Deputy Minister who is apparently doing volunteer consulting work to convince the government otherwise. No worries Bob, with a former editor of the Recorder as your Executive Assistant, I am sure you will spin something out about how you are working hard on this file. Or maybe your former assistant, now a local CAO will come up with something. Sweet having those sorts of transferable skills.

Mr.Weber your plan is ridiculous. Shame on the LHIN for accepting it. Shame on Minister E-Health Caplan for approving it. If 12 months won't make a difference then why the hurry; unless of course there is some kind of e-health like bonus out there that nobody knows about.

Mr. Weber, mental health administration is important work. It takes compassion and empathy. Your recent comments show that you have little of either, never mind the common sense to not to pour oil on a simmering fire. Step down now. I am sure that your salary alone would prolong the work life of a half dozen or more mental health professionals who truly care about our patients and our community.

On Behalf of the executive of OPSEU Local 439

David McDougall

President