March13, 2009
Dr. George Buldo
Chair
CE LHIN Clinical Services Planning Steering Committee
Central East Local Health Integration Network
314 Harwood Avenue South, Suite 204A,
Ajax, OntarioL1S 2J1
Email:
Dear Dr. Buldo:
Re: Central East LHIN Clinical Service Plan report
l read with dismay the LHIN’s proposal to close the one obstetrical bed at HaliburtonHospital. This recommendation, made by the Clinical Services Plan Steering Committee to the Board of the Central East LHIN, will lead to poorer outcomes for mothers and their newborns who will be forced to travel far from their community to give birth.
It was particularly surprising to see the LHIN recommend closing the one bed given the stated goal of the clinical service plan to ensure that residentsreceive health care services as closetohome as possible. Instead of meeting this goal by allowing obstetrical services to remain in Haliburton, the LHIN is suggesting that it is appropriate for women to travel over 1.5 hours to give birth.As a resident in this community, l am disappointed that the LHIN is seeking to take away the few health care services that we still have, instead of looking for ways to improve and retain them.
Haliburton currently has one physician practising obstetrics, Dr. Norm Bottum,who has cared for newborns and their mothers for many years,as well as a midwife who recently received funding to open a midwifery practice in the Haliburton area. Together these two providers have proposed a shared practice arrangement thus allowing women in Haliburton to stay close to home to delivertheir babies. They are adding resources and will help increase the number of births in the region thus making the Haliburton bed more sustainable. Providing elective births in Haliburton Hospital will actually help to ensure that competent and trained obstetrical providers are available not only for elective births but also for emergency births which are guaranteed to occur in our community whether the bed is available or not. Unfortunately,theLHIN’s proposal may have the unintended consequence of our community losing thesecritical maternity careproviders as they will have no hospital locally in which to practice. This will infact, leave the women of Haliburton without skilled providers should they need them. Will this not lead to poor outcomes?
l understand the need to save moneyduring difficult economic times. The cost however, should not be the only, or primary, concern when developing proposals for health care delivery. Instead, safety (which contrary to the report's suggestion has never been an issue at HaliburtonHospital) and community needs should be the foremost considerations. In addition, we should be thinking about costs more broadly – what is the cost to the health care system of a labouring woman travelling nearly two hours to arrive at a hospital? What are the costs to a family or community to be forced to travel long distances to access health care services? What is the cost to the health care system should there be a poor outcome due to no obstetrical providers being available?
lstrongly urge you to reconsider this recommendation and allow the one obstetrical bed at Haliburton Hospital to remain open to give women in our community the option of safe, local birth and post-partum care.
Yours truly,
CCDalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
Rick Johnson, MPP Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
Paul Rosebush,HaliburtonHospital CEO and President
Dr. Norm Bottum, Family Physician
Rebecca Weeks-Toth, RM, Midwifery Services of Haliburton-Bancroft