Health minister visits, but offers no money for a new hospital
Focus will be on getting patients moved into long-term care, staff says
For the first time in nine years, a provincial health minister has toured Campbellford Memorial Hospital and hopefully understands why it needs to be replaced.
But she hasn’t said that.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones, who had been in Port Hope for another announcement, made the visit on Thursday with our MPP David Piccini. Unfortunately, they didn’t alert local media, that’s me, so I couldn’t ask her what she thought of the place.
The hospital posted pictures on their Facebook and Instagram feeds and highlighted the fact Jones got to see the new CT scanner that has just been put into service.
‘We were thrilled to showcase the incredible work of our IPU (image processing unit) team and give her a tour of our facilities, including our brand-new CT Scanner,” the hospital said. “We also had the opportunity to discuss our proposed redevelopment.”
For the past couple of years, the hospital board and executives had been hoping to get Jones to visit and Piccini has been working to make it happen.
Their hope was that the minister would understand the tough conditions they work under and agree to support construction of a new facility. The plan awaits provincial funding of about $3 million to undertake detailed planning for the proposed campus of care just northwest of town.
It was always going to be a bit of an odd visit, since the goal was to show the guest what an old, decrepit building exists now and to get sympathy, and money, for a new one. It reminds me of a young couple inviting a rich mother-in-law to see their first apartment and trying to be sociable, but also hoping she’ll be disgusted by where they live and spring for the down payment on a new condo.
The visit was part of the hospital’s efforts to push the government for funding, but not push so hard that it upsets the funders.
This delicate approach is contrasted by the very public complaints from Elizabeth Roy, the mayor of Whitby, which is also awaiting government go-ahead for the planning process for a new hospital. She has wound up in a public dispute with Premier Doug Ford over the delays.
By the way, I’ve asked the ministry how many other projects are stuck at the same stage and my questions have been ignored.
I also asked the minister’s office if she had a comment after her visit to Campbellford and her spokesperson Hannah Jensen responded: “Our government has shovels in the ground for over 50 hospital development projects and we will continue to work with our hospital partners across the province on our next round of development projects.
“We understand Campbellford also has a significant number of Alternative Level of Care (ALC) patients, meaning there are patients in hospital but would be better served by long-term care or home care. The Ministry and Ontario Health will continue to work with Campbellford to improve their patient flow and supports. This includes investing an additional $2 billion through our 2024 budget to expand models of home care.”
By the way, the last health minister to visit was Liberal Eric Hoskins back in July 2015. He used the hospital as a backdrop to announce funding for small hospitals around the province and visited patients in their rooms. Unfortunately for them and him, it was a sweltering day, and the rooms were not air conditioned. The photos show him with a ruddy glow and lots of perspiration.
But Hoskins is a doctor who had worked in war-torn Sudan, so he had no doubt seen worse facilities. In contrast, Jones has a college diploma in radio broadcasting and got her start in politics as executive assistant to then PC leader John Tory. She lives in Dufferin County and is MPP for Dufferin-Caledon.