Staff
Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell has invited Health minister Deb Matthews to visit the riding to develop a regional health-care strategy.
“I believe long-term solutions are attainable, but they require a recognition that the structures that work in southern Ontario may not be the best solutions for the northwest,” Campbell wrote in an open letter to Matthews dated yesterday.
“That is why I am asking you to make a personal visit to my riding, where we can sit down with health-care facility administrators and community leaders to develop a Northwestern Ontario health-care strategy that ensures sustainable and viable health services in our communities,” she added.
The invitation comes as the Town of Rainy River faces serious challenges in keeping its emergency room open.
With the minister’s help, the community was able to avoid short-term emergency room closures over the Christmas holiday, and more recently potential closures at the end of January.
“While I appreciate your assistance, I am sure you would agree more needs to be done to ensure the facility remains open in the long-term,” Campbell wrote.
“This has become even more urgent as it was just announced that the community’s one remaining doctor will be departing effective June of next year, leaving the community without any physicians if the current situation persists,” she stressed.
Campbell noted Rainy River is located more than an hour away from the closest Canadian-based emergency room in Fort Frances, and that the Ministry of Health previously has balked at arrangements to fill staffing gaps with assistance from the hospital in Baudette, Mn., which is minutes away from the community.
After having held in-depth discussions with community leaders from Rainy River and across the riding, Campbell said she’s convinced the current structure is failing northern communities.
“Different facility classifications and rates of pay are making it difficult for smaller health centres to attract physicians, and the uncertainty and heavy workload that these doctors face make retention exceptionally difficult,” she wrote.
Solutions can be found, noted Campbell, as the recent challenges in Ear Falls showed.
But she said often it is the ministry’s own rules that delay these solutions and cause undue delays and stress.
Campbell said she is looking forward to working with Matthews to develop a solution.
