FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December
6, 2005
Ajax-Pickering
community rallies against closure of hospital services for
women and children
The Ajax-Pickering community
is rallying against the planned Dec. 14 closure of pediatric
and obstetric services at the local hospital – the only such
facility between Kingston and Toronto.
The changes are a
foreshadowing of things to come under the local health
boards (LHINs) planned by the Liberal government. The
hospital simply failed to recruit and retain the
professionals it needs. “The government is standing by while
the Rouge Valley Health System makes thousands of women and
children head west on the 401 to find services instead of
Rouge Valley finding a handful of pediatricians to come the
other way,” says Leah Casselman, OPSEU President. “There are
no easy public transit links from Ajax or Pickering to
Centenary. This is fast becoming a major crisis for this
community.”
The Ajax-Pickering Hospital
is a focal point of a growing community made up of young
families. About one quarter of the population of Ajax and
Pickering is children.
“The closure will have an
enormous impact on the nurses who care for the pediatric and
obstetrical patients,” adds Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN,
President of the Ontario Nurses’ Association. “Not only will
they have to travel a further distance to their workplace,
but they will have to assimilate into a different workplace
culture. This move also flies in the face of what the
Ministry of Health says it is doing for Ontarians by
introducing LHINs –moving health care services further away
from the communities that need them.”
Communities are likely to see
more such closures under the McGuinty government’s health
integration plan.
“Sadly, under the Liberal
plan, this kind of service closure will be replicated in
communities across the province,” says Michael Hurley,
president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE).
“It forces people to hit the highway to get services that
used to be available locally, like birthing and pediatrics."
The Friends of the Ajax
Pickering Hospital are holding a rally at the Ajax Community
Centre this Wednesday night (Dec. 7) at 7 pm. The mayors of
three affected municipalities – Pickering, Whitby and Ajax
-- will be among the speakers.
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For more information,
contact: Sheree Bond, ONA 416-964 8833, ext 2430; David Cox,
OPSEU 416-788-9197 (cell); Stella Yeadon, CUPE; 416-578-8774
