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CBC
2 days ago
- Health
- CBC
'Enough is enough:' Local politicians decry Niagara Health's decision to reduce urgent care hours
Niagara Health's decision to reduce summer hours at its only two urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne, Ont., has sparked outrage. Some local elected officials in Fort Erie are calling on the CEO to resign, the provincial government to intervene and an immediate reversal of the decision. Mayor Wayne Redekop told his council Monday evening that the people running the local hospital system "don't give a rats ass about Fort Erie." His perspective was echoed by other councillors, including Nick Dubanow. "I think we need to kick Niagara Health to the curb," he said. "I'm very angry. Enough is enough." Earlier that day, Niagara Health had announced that throughout July, August and early September, it will close the Fort Erie Urgent Care Centre on Fridays and the Port Colborne Urgent Care Centre on Saturdays. Both centres will be closed on Canada Day, July 1, and the Labour Day long weekend, Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. Fort Erie's will also be closed on the Civic Holiday long weekend, Aug. 1 to 4. Normally they operate seven days a week. Fort Erie Coun. Tom Lewis advised council on Monday he will be putting forward two motions later this month. The first will call for the town to "immediately withhold" committed funding to Niagara Health's new hospital, although it's unclear the dollar amount. The second will call for the Niagara Health CEO Lynn Guerriero and members of the board to resign, and for the province to appoint a supervisor to oversee operations, Lewis said. "Niagara Health has broken our trust," he said. "We owe it to the people of Fort Erie to take a firm stance. And I believe this council will." Niagara Health said in a statement to CBC Hamilton local officials are oversimplifying the complexity of running a regional hospital system. "We are disappointed when misinformation is shared by elected local officials in their zeal to build support for their campaigns," said spokesperson Erica Bajer. Doctor shortage prompts closures The closures are because the region faces a shortage of physicians qualified to work in emergency departments, Niagara Health said in a news release. The doctors who'd normally work in urgent care need to be deployed to hospitals and even still many shifts there remain unfilled. "We know these closures are frustrating and concerning for the communities affected, said Dr. Kevin Chan, chief of staff, in the release. "They are not decisions we made lightly. This is the minimum level of closure required to maintain emergency care across the region." There are no hospitals or emergency rooms in Fort Erie or Port Colborne and thousands of people are without a family doctor. The closest hospital is in Welland — about a 12-kilometre drive from Port Colborne and 32-kilometre drive from Fort Erie. Niagara Health also runs a hospital in St. Catharines and another in Niagara Falls. Urgent care centres are supposed to be for people with health conditions who can't wait for a scheduled medical appointment but don't necessarily need emergency care, says Niagara Health's website. Those health conditions include nausea, vomiting, fevers, flu, minor cuts that may need stitches, sports injuries, ear, throat and eye problems and minor asthma flare-ups or allergic reactions. Niagara Health said the urgent care closures are despite "exhaustive efforts" to recruit physicians including financial incentives, direct outreach, targeted recruitment campaigns and flexible scheduling. "Further, Niagara Health is working tirelessly to recruit more physicians to the region and it's disingenuous to minimize the incredible challenge of physician recruitment in the face of a province-wide doctor shortage," said Bajer. In 2009, Niagara Health converted Fort Erie's Douglas Memorial Hospital's emergency department to an urgent care centre. In 2023, it reduced hours at both centres from operating overnight to closing in the evening. It's also planning to close them permanently in 2028 when a new hospital in Niagara Falls is supposed to open. 'Treated as afterthoughts," mayor says At a news conference Wednesday, Redekop and Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele said they don't believe Niagara Health had a plan to keep the urgent care centres running seven days a week despite thousands of tourists visiting throughout the summer. "I'm concerned we're being treated as afterthoughts and it's becoming normalized," Steele said. They mayors were also joined by local NDP MPP Wayne Gates. Steele and Redekop said they spoke with the Niagara Health CEO in May, where she gave them a heads up of staffing shortages that could impact urgent care. The mayors said they could help to recruit physicians and in a follow-up email requested to see the Niagara Health recruitment program, and the number of doctors needed, but never heard back. Then on Monday, they had a call with Chan, the chief of staff. He advised them of the reduced hours, which Niagara Health made public during their meeting, Redekop said. No heads up was given to the mayors or councillors. Redekop said at the meeting they also learned Niagara Health doesn't have a formal physician recruitment program or plan to develop a training program so family doctors can more easily become qualified to work in urgent care and emergency departments. Niagara Health said it does "aggressive and ongoing recruitment efforts" that aren't limited to "a single campaign" and provided this "clarification" to the mayors on Monday. Bajer said Niagara Health sent information about its training process to them on Wednesday. But Niagara Health also didn't post its physician schedules for the urgent care centres two months in advance as it normally does to give doctors who want more hours the opportunity to take them, Redekop said. The hospital system said its process was delayed "as we worked to stabilize physician coverage across the entire hospital system, particularly in emergency departments, which are provincially mandated to remain operational." Ministry says up to Niagara Health to decide Several Fort Erie councillors said they didn't believe Niagara Health tried to keep the urgent care centres open, even as it will force more people to go to already busy hospitals for health care. "The hospital system is effectively condemning its own emergency room," said Coun. Joan Christensen at Monday's council meeting, after having also joined the phone call with Niagara Health earlier in the day. "In my opinion, our battle should now be with the Government of Ontario. We can't negotiate with people who are consistently misrepresenting the truth." The Ministry of Health said in a statement it is up to Niagara Health's to decide how to deliver services. "While the Ministry of Health was not directly involved in this decision, we will continue to work closely with Niagara Health and other hospital partners ... to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver high-quality care close to home," said press secretary Ema Popovic.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Niagara ‘health-care emergency'?: Urgent care centre reductions spark accusations
Anger over planned cuts to summer hours at south Niagara's two urgent care centres is boiling over into words and proposed actions. During Fort Erie's town council meeting Monday night, Ward 5's Coun. Tom Lewis said he will bring forward motions June 23 to withhold the municipality's previously committed funds to Niagara Health for its south Niagara Falls hospital under construction and redirect them to other health-care initiatives. He said he also plans to formally request the resignations of Lynn Guerriero, the hospital system's president and chief executive officer, along with the entire Niagara Health board, and ask the provincial government to appoint a supervisor to oversee Niagara Health operations. 'This is a health-care emergency and a threat to our health-care safety net,' he said, adding Fort Erie residents 'should be outraged.' 'We thought we were funding a new hospital with urgent care services still within our community,' Lewis said. 'We bought a horse and what they're showing us today is a donkey. That is not acceptable.' Mayors of Fort Erie and Port Colborne are also calling the reduced hours 'unacceptable' and 'deeply concerning,' as both communities brace for reduced access to medical services during the tourism season. Niagara Health informed the municipalities it will reduce regular hours at its urgent care centres (UCCs) beginning in July, through to the Labour Day weekend. The Fort Erie UCC will be closed Fridays and over two long weekends, while Port Colborne's UCC will close on Saturdays. Both UCCs will also be closed Canada Day and Fort Erie will be closed for the civic holiday weekend, Aug. 1-4. The announcement has sparked a war of words between the hospital system and the two mayors, with Niagara Health saying in an emailed statement some comments from politicians are 'insulting.' 'Our urgent care centre is not a luxury, it is an essential service,' Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop said in a statement. 'Scaling back operations during the busiest months of the year, when thousands of residents and visitors depend on timely access to care, shows a troubling disregard for the needs of our community.' Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele echoed that frustration. 'We are doing everything we can so that Port Colborne continues to have access to the health care we need, especially during the summer months when our population almost doubles,' he stated in a news release. The mayors said they have previously offered to collaborate with Niagara Health on physician recruitment efforts and emergency room operations at hospitals. During Monday night's meeting, Redekop said Niagara Health needs a formal physician recruitment plan, onboarding process and training programs to prepare family doctors for UCC and emergency work, and the town is willing to do what it can to help. '(Niagara Health) has never reached out to Fort Erie to assist with physician recruitment initiatives, (or) to seek additional funding from the province if needed.' He said the process has left municipalities without opportunities to help fill staffing gaps. 'Niagara Health simply decided to pre-emptively shutter UCCs,' he said, referring to its plans to close the UCCs after the new Niagara Falls hospital is complete in 2028. In response to similar comments made earlier, Niagara Health sent a statement calling them 'inflammatory.' 'Let us be clear: these are not decisions we want to make — they are decisions we have to make,' said Niagara Health. 'Our emergency-trained doctors are exhausted. We are short at least 10 to 15 physicians across our sites,' it said, adding if its limited emergency medical resources are not focused on keeping emergency departments (ED) in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland open 24-7, the entire region will be at risk. 'We have said this repeatedly: our priority is maintaining 24-7 ED care, where the sickest and most vulnerable patients come for treatment. We cannot, in good conscience, divert those resources to UCCs at the expense of emergency coverage. That's not just operational reality — it's a patient safety imperative.' The statement said Niagara Health helped develop a model to bring a family physician group into the Port Colborne UCC site to support same-day access to care. It said Fort Erie has been encouraged to explore a similar model. 'We have offered to help develop it, identify partners and support implementation. No such proposal has been submitted from the town,' the statement said. 'Despite Niagara Health's support, Fort Erie also did not apply for available provincial funding in 2023 to bring an interprofessional primary care model to the community — a missed opportunity that could have helped address the root cause of this challenge: the lack of access to primary care.' Both mayors will speak further at a joint news conference scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Fort Erie town hall. Niagara Falls NDP MPP Wayne Gates is also expected to be in attendance. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
