Obstetrics, surgeries to remain at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital: Doug Ford
Premier commits to rebuild, announces $500,000 planning grant
ONTARIO PREMIER
Doug Ford has announced $500,000 to begin planning the construction of a new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital — and said that obstetrics and surgical service will not be removed from the aging facility.
The province is also promising $8.5 million in infrastructure improvements to the hospital.
Ford, flanked by senior members of his cabinet, as well as Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, made the announcement at the hospital Wednesday.
Ford called the investment in the hospital “desperately needed and long overdue.”
The announcement follows weeks of protests that were triggered when the hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Gary Benson, resigned his post over the cuts, which were to take effect on Jan. 1. The fate of the hospital has been an unresolved issue in West Niagara for over a decade.
In 2005, the community raised $14 million to contribute to the construction of a new hospital.
The project was announced that year, but cancelled in 2012 by the then-governing Liberals as a cost-cutting measure.
The project has been in limbo ever since.
Ford’s announcement also follows a stack of petitions presented to the provincial legislature by Conservative MPP Oosterhoff that expressed the community-wide frustration with the service cuts to the hospital.
Ford offered few details on the timeline for the rebuild, but he said he wants to work quickly. Oosterhoff said to expect shovels in the ground soon.
“In this term we will have shovels in the ground,” he said.
When the Progressive Conservatives came to power earlier this year, local officials were hopeful it could mean movement on a hospital rebuild.
But a late October memo to staff at the hospital from Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), which oversees the facility, generated serious questions about the future of the hospital.
That memo suggested obstetrics and surgical services would be leaving West Lincoln Memorial for about 27 months in order to make way for infrastructure upgrades required to meet Accreditation Canada standards.
With Wednesday’s announcement of the planning grant, the government also announced those services would remain in Grimsby.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott said those services would only move if required during the hospital rebuild, and ensured it would be temporary.
“Service relocations, that may be necessary, if any, will be part of the redevelopment process for the community and will be temporary,” she said, adding any plans to remove services in the new year “will not be moving forward.”
Additionally, the government said it will spend $8.5 million in infrastructure upgrades to the hospital. That work will include heating and cooling, along with plumbing and electrical systems, and will begin in December.
HHS CEO Rob MacIsaac called those immediate upgrades “critical infrastructure improvements” for the hospital.
The immediate improvements of the surgical department remain somewhat unclear. The announcement didn’t address those specific infrastructure needs, other than the provincial government committing to keeping surgery and obstetrics open.
HHS has formed a working group that includes hospital staff and administration that is working to come up with solutions for the departments. That working group is expected to offer some options in January.
MacIsaac said he expects any plans HHS has developed to date to be a part of the early planning phase announced Wednesday. Plans for the Grimsby site included the maintenance of an emergency room and obstetrics at West Lincoln.
“We haven’t deviated from the original plan,” said MacIsaac.
Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton was happy with what she heard on Wednesday.
“The announcement is something we can work with,” she said, adding the community has come together in support of the hospital over the past few weeks. She said the $500,000 grant promises a “very intense and very focused” planning process.
As for the lack of a firm timeline, Easton said she doesn’t think it’s realistic to expect that level of detail at this point in time but that the community needs to look at the announcement as a positive step.
She also said the presence of two ministers — Elliott and Minister of Infrastructure Monte McNaughton — along with the premier and Oosterhoff sent a strong signal that the provincial government is committed to a rebuild.
And it’s a rebuild that’s important for all of West Niagara, and beyond, she added.
“It’s absolutely essential that this hospital exists in the future for all of West Niagara and the east parts of Winona and Stoney Creek.”