Open Letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne regarding Georgian Bay General Hospital

Please see below the open letter from Simcoe North MPP and Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown to Premier Kathleen Wynne regarding the Georgian Bay General Hospital:
Dear Premier Wynne,
I am writing to you regarding the potential cuts to services at Georgian Bay General Hospital.
In December, an operational review of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) resulted in 108 recommendations to help ensure a sustainable financial operating position within approved funding. Some of the most concerning recommendations included cutting Intensive Care Unit and medical beds, slashing surgeries to three days a week, and eliminating the obstetric unit. If implemented, these recommendations will have grave repercussions for the residents of the area that rely on the quality care that GBGH provides.

As MPP for Simcoe North, I have heard the shock and concern from residents, patients and employees over what these recommendations will mean for the delivery of quality health care services in the community.
Georgian Bay General Hospital serves a population base of 55,000, which grows to more than 200,000 six months of the year. This hospital is critical to the quality of life and well-being of my community of Simcoe North and its constituents.
In particular, cuts to the obstetric unit would mean that expectant mothers would have to travel to Barrie or Orillia, often leaving family members behind, or end up in the emergency department at GBGH to deliver their baby.
Looming cuts to services such as what we’re seeing at GBGH are not unknown to hospitals in small towns, rural and northern communities throughout Ontario. The reality is that your Liberal Government is making it increasingly difficult for hospitals to meet the health care needs of Ontarians.
Hospitals throughout the province are struggling with four years of frozen budgets, and as a result are being forced to slash services and lay-off frontline health care workers. This is in addition to your government slashing provincial health care funding by $54 million in the 2015 budget, an $815 million cut to physician services, and a $50 million cut to physiotherapy services for seniors.
The result is a serious threat to the ability of patients to access quality health care, now and in the coming years. This is unacceptable.
Simcoe County has already felt the effect of cuts to health care funding. Patients have seen their CCAC services reduced or cut altogether, and many are dreading the upcoming closure of the GBGH’s Penetanguishene site. Patients continue to languish on waitlists for surgeries and long-term care. What this community does not need is more cuts that will impact the quality of health care services they receive.
As MPP for Simcoe North, I urge your government to ensure long-term viability and funding to the GBGH and to the community it services. The health of the residents of Simcoe North and Simcoe County depends on it.

Sincerely,
Patrick Brown
MPP, Simcoe North
Leader of the Official Opposition