Hospitals call off proposed merger

Opponents thrilled at halting of plan for one hospital with two sites

The hospitals in Peterborough and Lindsay have called off a proposed plan to merge, prompting jubilation from local health care advocates who were concerned an amalgamation might have meant service cuts.

“It’s been a great day — we’re thrilled,” said Bonnie Kennedy, a retired nurse and co-chairwoman of the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition. “I think you could say this is a victory.”

Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay had developed a plan to potentially integrate the hospitals into one organization with two sites, as of January.

But now the merger won’t happen, states a Friday press release from the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), which had asked the two hospitals to consider joining forces in the first place.

The decision from the two hospital boards not to go forward with a merger was accepted by the LHIN, states the press release.

Dr. Peter McLaughlin, president and CEO of PRHC, said earlier this year that a merger could have advantages such as the elimination of competition between PRHC and Ross Memorial when it comes to hiring staff.

But throughout six months of collecting public feedback, the hospitals heard concerns from people in both communities who felt the merger could lead to service cuts.

That public feedback helped inform the decision not to pursue a merger, stated PRHC board chair Adair Ireland-Smith and Ross Memorial board chair Val Harris in the LHIN press release.

McLaughlin wasn’t available for comment on Friday.

Neither was Dr. Bert Lauwers, CEO of Ross Memorial Hospital, but he sent a written statement to The Examiner explaining the merger would have required a lot of time and money from both hospitals “over a period of several years.”

Partnerships between the two hospitals already exist in areas such as diagnostic imaging, dialysis and mental health, and Dr. Lauwers wrote that the two hospitals will continue to work together.

Those collaborations have served patients well over the years, Kennedy said.

But she said she a merger between the two hospitals would have cost “buckets of money” — and that hospital administrators never said exactly how much it would cost or who would pay.

Kennedy was also concerned the services at Ross Memorial Hospital would be eventually transferred entirely to Peterborough. That wouldn’t have been good for either community, she said.

“It (no merger) is a good thing for residents of Kawartha Lakes — and probably for residents of Peterborough as well,” Kennedy said.

Roy Brady of the Peterborough Health Coalition had shared some of Kennedy’s concerns.

Because PRHC is the larger hospital, he said, many services might’ve been transferred to Peterborough — meaning Lindsay patients would have to travel for services they currently receive in their own community.

That also would have meant a fresh surge of patients for the overly-busy PRHC, Brady said.

“It would have hurt both hospitals — an odd result, when you’re trying to improve things.”