The closure of the Minden Emergency Department was discussed at Queens Park.
During question period on Wednesday, NDP MPP for Spadina-Fort York, Chris Glover, raised concerns about last week’s announcement by Haliburton Highlands Health Services to close the ER site in Minden as of June 1.
Deputy Premier and Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says she has been “assured” that the HHHS board has approached the closure decision “with the best interests of the community. She added that “it is independent of any decision that we make at the ministry level.”
Jones says Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes Brock MPP Laurie Scott has been “in close contact” with the board and CEO throughout the “entire process.”
The Ontario Nurses’ Association said in a statement on Tuesday that “the closure of Minden’s ER will put the lives of Ontarians needing emergency care at greater risk, leave those in the area with less access to emergency care, and is certain to occur at more Ontario hospitals if the province continues its failure to take meaningful action to retain and recruit nurses.”
**Written by Rick Lowes