|
Newsletter
|
Donate
Hastings County to talk hospital funding
Posted: October 28, 2015
(October 28, 2015)
By Ernst Kuglin, The Intelligencer/Trentonian
BELLEVILLE – Hospital funding and local health care services will be front and centre Thursday during a special meeting organized by Hastings County for Quinte region mayors.
The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Belleville at the county offices on Pinnacle Street.
Our TMH chair John Smylie will also be at the meeting armed with a resolution the advocacy groups want distributed to, and voted on, by local municipal councils.
The two-part resolution calls on the Ministry of Health to review the funding formula for rural multi-site hospitals like Quinte Health Care, and calls on the ministry to look at how the formula affects the sustainability of smaller hospitals like Trenton Memorial.
In addition, regional municipalities will be asked to support a proposal for the development of a community run hospital and health centre at TMH as proposed by Our TMH and the Brighton-Quinte West Health Services Task Force.
Smylie said Wednesday Our TMH isn’t backing down on its plans to convince the provincial government TMH should be de-amalgamated from QHC.
“The plan can work. Although it’s difficult, it’s been done before. It will not only be beneficial for TMH, but QHC as well because it eliminates one of the hospitals that make QHC so inefficient. De-amalgamating creates more efficiencies for TMH and QHC,” said Smylie.
Our TMH is also in the hunt for a retired health care administrator/director to help navigate through the process.
“We’re hoping we can find an individual who will volunteer his/her time,” said Smylie.
The advocacy group has formally requested financial information from QHC on the cost of running Trenton Memorial for the 2013/2014 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people are expected to attend the Nov. 13 Ontario Health Coalition rally held at Trenton’s Centennial Park. Our TMH is helping to organize the rally.
The coalition has organized four days of action at locations across the province. The first is being held in Trenton.
The rally will include busloads of people from across central and eastern Ontario and will include members of unions, advocacy groups and other health care related associations.
“We are urging residents to be at the meeting. It’s extremely important,” said Smylie.
The rally – Friday, Nov. 13 – starts at noon and runs to 2 p.m.
ernst.kuglin@sunmedia.ca
