South Bruce Grey Health Centre’s board didn’t have much to say about recent Durham Hospital service cuts at its annual general meeting.
The SBGHC welcomed community members to sit in on the meeting Wednesday night at the Best Western Hotel in Walkerton, as well as online through video chat service Zoom.
The meeting included discussion on the board’s activities and upgrades to hospitals over the past year, as well as some time for questions from attendees.
The community group Save the Durham Hospital had some of its members in attendance, and had also planned to protest outside the building.
South Bruce Grey Health Centre completed its transfer of Durham’s 10 inpatient beds earlier this month to other hospitals in Kincardine and Walkerton, due to a nursing staff shortage. That decision’s been met with pushback from many in West Grey, and even legal action by the municipality.
During Wednesday’s AGM, one meeting attendee asked: “When you make a decision to take inpatient beds and reduce emergency room hours, are there impact statements collected? Are there health and safety assessments done? What data did you collect prior to making that decision? I am not saying Durham because you don’t want us to say Durham, but I am asking particularly about Durham.”
South Bruce Grey Health Centre Board Vice Chair Dean Dunn responded by speaking broadly and not specifically about the Durham Hospital, saying they would discuss the impacts in consultation with the other hospitals in the area.
