Ontario Nurses’ Association President Erin Ariss says she, and the organization she represents, are against the hospital model being floated by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare, which manages both the Bracebridge and Huntsville hospitals.
She said the fundamental reason her organization is against the model being presented by MAHC is that “it would cause patients to travel to another hospital or another area, rather than having localized healthcare as you have now.”
Ariss added that time is of the essence during an emergency or during labour. She said MAHC’s plan to move obstetrical services to Huntsville doesn’t make sense.
“Can you imagine being a pregnant mother, a labouring mother. You’re traveling on a highway which is in the winter unpredictable at best [and] in the summer, more often than not, clogged with vehicles. Can you imagine having to travel that distance? That is an example, there’s deliveries at both hospitals now, why wouldn’t they consider that,” she questioned.
She said from a nursing perspective if you’re having a heart attack or a stroke, minutes matter. “And they’re travelling from both communities to where they rationalize these services, it just doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t they provide services for both communities at both hospitals,” she questioned.
MAHC has maintained that the cost of building two hospitals has skyrocketed due to inflationary pressures, and their model, as presented, is a made-in-Muskoka solution that would not require communities to raise more than the $225 million local share cost of a near billion-dollar redevelopment project, the remainder of which will come from the Province.
“There’s no shortage of money. The Ford government underspent, we know from the Financial Accountability Office, their budget by $22.6 billion. There is no reason why both communities cannot have hospitals. There is no reason why doctors and nurses are not consulted prior to the decision being made, and that would help,” she said.
MAHC has said it has worked with various focus groups including medical professionals but Ariss said as far as she is aware, registered nurses were not consulted.
She said there are hospitals all over Ontario that have shared administrations, like Huntsville and Bracebridge, and yet successfully manage to offer services that are unique to the population they serve. “And in many cases, it includes duplication of services because it serves the community. Those that are accessing care have the care that they need when they need it in their community.”
Asked about leveraging the numbers of both of the hospitals’ catchment areas under one roof in order to attract more specialists and services, and avoid having to travel outside of Muskoka for certain services, Ariss said that is not what she heard when she attended the Bracebridge meeting.
“They will still have to transfer patients out of that community and that was from the physician’s group, they were speaking to that. Physicians that work in intensive care in particular so they would be the best people to ask.”
In terms of staffing shortages at MAHC, she said 80 per cent of MAHC’s nurses in the medical-surgical unit are agency nurses. “So clearly, clearly they have enough money to pay agency nurses or pay agencies for nursing services. Clearly, they have an issue with recruitment and retention and I think a lot of that is due to leadership and the lack of communication and engagement with their nursing staff,” said Ariss, adding that the retention and attraction of medical staff such as nurses is not about new buildings but respect, wages, scheduling and work environment where one feels valued and respected, and where your input is sought prior to decisions being made, which she said is not currently happening at MAHC.
What about concentrating staff due to province-wide shortages?
“You will lose more nurses by going forward with this plan and I’ve heard that from my members. They can work anywhere… It will only make the shortage worse,” she warned. She said she has been an emergency department nurse for more than two decades. “I did engage with the CEO the other night at the [Bracebridge] meeting and I did offer to collaborate and that invitation is open,” she said of providing localized community-based care and solutions to the organization’s staffing issues.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!
Click here to support local news
Thank you. Finally words of sense.
RIGHT ON JOHN !!!
I just keep thinking that it is inherently impossible to run something like a hospital exactly like a business.
In most business, one has many options, right up to and including simply closing, but without this ultimate option normal business can readily increase and decrease it’s size, workforce and a host of other things.
A hospital has to be able to respond to emergencies. Emergencies, by their very nature cannot be planned in advance other than to try to be prepared for foreseeable events. I think it was Rumsfeld, one of President Bush’s aids who commented that “there are unknown’s and then there are unknown unknown’s” Hospitals fall into the later of these.
So, sadly for planners, hospitals must always be inefficient to some extent as they meed extra space and staff that is not being utilized so they can be ready when that unknown arrives.
I also remember that budgets are great things to play with until you are hurting badly or leaking blood or something along these lines. Budgets become the last thing on your mind at these moments.
Striking the right balance with these hospitals is not only important but necessary and difficult. The existing situation was not really “planned”, it just sort of grew over time and what we are used to is sometimes hard to change.
Ford has demonstrated health care is not a priority of his government.
Is the single site agenda coming from Ford?
Plus a mini, unviable hospital that will be cancelled/closed as in other communities?
Make no mistake Muskoka is going backwards from 2 to 1 hospital with this unacceptable plan.
The second meeting in Bracebridge was just as feisty.
https://doppleronline.ca/huntsville/feisty-crowd-hears-new-hospital-plan-in-bracebridge/
Ford illegally limited raises to nurses with Bill 124.
When they worked to exhaustion during Covid.
Nurses had to take Ford to court to be treated fairly and legally and won.
Ford lost the first court case, appealed and lost again.
Search “Ontario to repeal wage-cap law after Appeal Court rules Ford government’s Bill 124 unconstitutional”
Just like he lost to CUPE previously. That legislation only lasted a few days.
“There’s no shortage of money. The Ford government underspent, we know from the Financial Accountability Office, their budget by $22.6 billion. There is no reason why both communities cannot have hospitals.”
Exactly. No reason at all.
Search “Ford, Trudeau sign $3.1B health-care funding deal that will see Ontario hire more health workers
Agreement comes year after feds promised to boost health transfers to provinces.”
What exactly is the issue with funding again?
Of course Ford won’t spend it on health care. It will go to his buddies for needless projects.
Like $300+ million of taxpayer dollars for an underground parking lot for a private spa at Ontario Place.
While claiming no public money is being spent on the spa.
Just like Ford didn’t spend billions in federal Covid money to keep people safe.
Search “Ontario didn’t spend money from COVID-19 response program in first quarter: watchdog”
What can you do with $500 million each to Huntsville and Bracebridge to refurbish existing sites and add new wings?
Turns out quite a lot.
For a measly $100 million Midland is getting 240 beds and more.
“the $100 million project making room for 240 beds, four operating rooms and the capacity to serve over 70 thousand patients each year, added space that physicians say would be game-changing for patient care.”
Search “Georgian Bay General Hospital looks to future with $100M expansion plans”
Don’t believe any of MAHC’s justifications of this flawed plan.
Or any of the costs quoted.
Or any of their patronizing spin.
Just like most people know by now you can’t believe anything Ford says.
As Dave Wilkin said:
“This journey started about 12 years ago, and yet, here we are today with no hospital capital upgrades done and fighting again in the community over what is still an unaffordable plan.
If they had listened to our and the majority of community voices back then, and instead of brand new hospitals, they opted for incremental existing site upgrades, we would be well on the way to the much-needed capacity expansion and hospital renewal, at an affordable cost. This is the route the vast majority of hospitals in Ontario take.”
MAHC’s dithering has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.