Facts, hyperbole and the future of Grimsby’s hospital

Few things rattle a community or neighbourhood more than when the future of local institutions — schools, hospitals, community centres and the like — are at risk, or even perceived to be at risk.

Consider the turmoil in Hamilton neighbourhoods when school boards decided some schools needed to close. Consider the battle for hearts and minds that broke out in Burlington early this year over the pending closure of Bateman and Pearson high schools.

And consider the community angst in Grimsby concerning the future of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. If you haven’t followed it, here’s the story so far.

WLMH is part of Hamilton Health Sciences. It’s an old facility, originally designed in the 1940s. There is broad agreement that it is at the end of its working life. It needs to be rebuilt. Heating and ventilation controls are below standard. Supply storage is below today’s standards. Pipes, electrical and air handling infrastructure are at the end of their lives. To move patients to and from urgent surgeries, the public elevator is required, which raises already high infection concerns. The facility has an abundance of asbestos (not typically a risk unless it is disturbed).

Back in May, endoscopy services moved from Grimsby to HHS’s MUMC site because the aging facility didn’t meet current standards for safe care.

HHS wants to rebuild West Lincoln. It has a proposal, endorsed by the Local Health Integration Network, that would see a rebuilt hospital with an ER, obstetrics, expanded day surgery, clinics and diagnostic services. The matter is in the hands of the Ford government, which if recent history is any indication, should be the biggest concern for Niagara residents.

But it’s not. Instead, a community movement has emerged that is more concerned with what HHS might do during the rebuilding project. HHS has suggested it might need to move surgical and obstetrics services to other sites during the $8.6-million, 27-month redevelopment.

Concerned residents and WLMH staff see it differently. They fear the service moves will be permanent, and that the hospital’s ER will have to close without the support of surgical services. Not so, says HHS. Its plan calls for the ER to continue to operate.

Further, critics warn, personnel and infrastructure will be lost if the services are moved, even temporarily. Dr. Mathew Noble Wohlgemut, WLMH interim medical director, says the hospital is safe and says about practitioners such as doctor and midwives: “if they are off that program for 27 months they will either stop delivering or they will move to another community ...”

Two things. HHS isn’t saying the hospital is not safe. It’s saying it is having increasing trouble meeting modern safety standards, which is different but equally concerning. And HHS says doctors, midwives and other practitioners will follow the relocated services and be back at WLMH when the project is complete.

Emotions are running high. NDP leader Andrea Horwath capitalized on that saying that moving services would be the “death knell for the hospital.”

Dramatic, yes. But not supported by the facts. HHS has a LHIN-approved proposal for redeveloping West Lincoln. HHS is meeting with WLMH doctors and staff to explore options to relocating the services, which is good. But it’s worth keeping in mind that rebuilding an asbestos-filled facility while continuing to do surgery sounds like a tall and risky order.

It’s good that WLMH advocates are fully engaged. It’s fine that many remain skeptical about HHS’s plan. But hyperbole and emotionalism can’t drive this process. Facts and evidence must. In any event, the final decision rests with Doug Ford, and it happens that he’s in Niagara today (Wednesday) to make a related announcement. Stay tuned.