The Niagara Health Coalition will be in front of Welland General hospital this morning at 10:30 to announce the next step in the fight to save the hospital and will be joined by the Mayors of Welland and Wainfleet to give details about a volunteer led, cross Ontario effort to convince the province to stop hospital cuts.
The Coalition is fighting to save the Welland hospital which will be closed when a new hospital in Niagara Falls is built that will serve the southern tier.
In a release, the group notes that hospitals across the province have been cut to the point of dangerous overcrowding and understaffing.
ABOUT NIAGARA HEALTH COALITION:
Dedicated to the support and protection of universal publicly-funded Medicare. The Niagara Health Coalition was established during serious cuts and ongoing threats to healthcare system, including hospital services, home care and long term care.
Niagara Health Coalition is concerned about the impact of restructuring hospital services in Niagara. The Ontario Health Coalition’s report on Rural and Small Hospitals Report released in May 2010 showed that Niagara had the worst conditions in Ontario. It has called for the provincial government to send an independent investigator into the Niagara Health System to evaluate the impact of the restructuring plan on all aspects of health care in Niagara.
In 2011, the Coalition held town halls in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Niagara Falls, Welland and St Catharines regarding concerns arising from the C difficile crisis and the quality of care and services of the NHS . In 2012, another series of town halls were held to discuss plans to further reduce services (closing five hospitals) and access to health care in Niagara South.
The coalition has also lobbied MPPs for changes in long term care regulations, and increased funding for hospitals and home care. The Niagara Health Coalition was active in the federal and provincial elections by distributing over 30,000 tabloids on health care in the region. Presently the coalition’s campaign SAVE OUR SERVICES draws attention to the impact of the government’s austerity on health care. On the federal level, the coalition is working with the Canadian Health Coalition and Ontario Health Coalition with regards to ensuring that MEDICARE is properly funded.
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