Rural Ontario town feels 'blindsided,' in state of emergency over removal of hospital's in-patient beds

Paul Sammut says quick access to the Durham, Ont., hospital saved his life after a serious cycling accident that required he get immediate medical attention.

Sammut was cycling on a rural road just north of the town in 2010 when his bike malfunctioned and he went over the handlebars, slamming into the roadway. He suffered serious injuries to his face and neck.

He said receiving care within minutes of his accident, rather than being taken to a hospital in another community, was crucial.

"I don't think I would have made it."

Hospital staff "immediately put me into a gurney and said if I had moved inches, more I would have died from a broken neck, and so they literally saved my life."

That accident led to Sammut becoming an advocate for the hospital. Now, he's raising concerns about in-patient beds being moved from Durham, which has a population of about 2,500, to other hospitals within the South Bruce Grey Health Centre's network as of this Monday.

Paul Sammut says he was rushed to the hospital in Durham when he had a serious cycling accident in 2010 and credits the local care he received with saving his life. He's now advocating for the hospital to keep its in-patient beds. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

There's so much concern over the move that the Municipality of West Grey declared a state of emergency this week.

"It's so important to keep this facility open," Sammut told CBC News while standing on the grass in front of the hospital.

"I'm an unbelievable, tremendous supporter of having tremendous health care in the area. And it's fantastic for all of the folks here," he said. "It means the health of our community, the health of our people, especially as they get older."

Staffing shortages a problem: CEO

The South Bruce Grey Health Centre operates four hospital sites in:

• Durham.

• Chesley.

• Kincardine.

• Walkerton.

Earlier this month, the health centre announced it would be moving 10 in-patient beds out of the Durham hospital to hospitals in Walkerton and Kincardine, 30-minute and hour-long drives, respectively, from Durham. Previously, the Durham hospital's emergency department hours were open 24/7, but were shortened in March to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

While the Hanover hospital is closer to Durham than the other three, it's not part of the health centre's network and is run independently.

The health centre said in a statement on its website that moving in-patient beds was necessary "due to a critical shortage of staff" that would only get worse over the summer and "this decision was made with the safety of our patients and staff top of mind."

Nancy Shaw, the health centre's president and CEO, said in an interview that staffing shortages in Durham have been an issue for years.

"In order to keep our emergency services open and provide consistent, accessible health care to the community, this was the only option that we were left with — was to transition the beds to other sites in order to maintain operation of the emergency department seven days a week."

She said they've worked with the province on recruiting nurses and still haven't been able to fill all the roles in the rural hospital.

Shaw said she recognizes people are worried about the hospital and "passionate" townspeople are speaking out against the decision, but there will still be access to health care.

"There seems to be fear that they're going to be losing access to care and that's not the case," Shaw said. "South Bruce Grey Health Centre remains committed to all four sites of our organization and we are committed to providing accessible, consistent, high-quality health care to Durham residents."

Save Our Hospital campaign

While Shaw and the health centre's public statements stress they're not closing the Durham hospital site, many residents believe it could still happen, so have started a campaign to bring attention to the issue.

White signs with "Save Our Hospital" written in red can be seen throughout the town, including along Highway 6 — a well-travelled road any day of the week, but particularly by people commuting to and from cottages — on front lawns, and in the windows of businesses including banks, retail stores and real estate offices.

A Save Our Hospital sign in the window of a convenience store in downtown Durham. The campaign signs can be found throughout town, on lawns and windows of other businesses. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

On Tuesday afternoon, about 40 people gathered on the lawn of the hospital to share their stories with CBC News. They spoke about the health care they or family members have received at the hospital and why people outside the town need to pay attention to what's happening.

Michael Knowlton, a father, grandfather and cancer survivor, said he has used the hospital for "dozens and dozens of visits between my children, myself, emergency situations."

"I'm afraid for my family, I'm afraid for myself. I can be here in seven minutes from my home and I've done it many, many times, and it really matters to have it close," Knowlton said.

Tim McCullough said his father is alive because hospital staff were able to treat him quickly when he had a medical emergency on Feb. 1.

"I'm worried about all the elderly people," he said, noting a long-term care home in Durham, Rockwood Terrace, is slated to expand in the coming months. "What kind of town wants a nursing home if there's no hospital? That's a major necessity."

State of emergency declared

Mayor Kevin Eccles said the municipality, which declared the state of emergency on Tuesday, wasn't consulted on the decisions about the hospital.

"We were blindsided," he said in an interview in council chambers. "There's been no consultation, update or anything with the board itself. They had a small Zoom meeting a couple of weeks ago and basically, on May 14, [offered] some stock answers about the staffing and whatnot."

West Grey Mayor Kevin Eccles says he plans to continue to fight the move of 10 in-patient beds from the hospital in Durham to other facilities within the South Bruce Grey Health Centre's network. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

Last week, Eccles and others travelled to Queen's Park in Toronto to call on the provincial government to stop the in-patient beds from being moved. He was joined by the Liberal and NDP health critics as well as members of the Ontario Health Coalition advocacy group.

The state of emergency "was basically our last resort," Eccles said, vowing to keep advocating for the beds to stay at Durham's hospital.

Impact on housing targets

Eccles said the future of the hospital could have wide-reaching impacts. The town has several planned housing projects, but said the decision to close the in-patient beds will make it harder for the municipality to meet the province's housing targets.

"The biggest reason that they're building those houses is because we have a hospital here, you know? So does the left hand even know that the right hand exists let alone what's it doing over there?" Eccles said.

Don Tremble of Candue Homes, a local developer, said a lot of people moving to the area are retirees.

"That's one of the first questions I always get asked: Where's the closest hospital."

"It's a growing community," Tremble said, adding he's also starting work on a commercial property and getting similar questions from companies looking to relocate.

"Companies ask, 'Where is the hospital for their employees?' So you don't realize how important it is until it's almost taken away."

Nurses being moved

Durham hospital staff are also being moved to help cover the workload in the other three hospitals in the health centre's network.

Erin Arris, a registered nurse and president of the Ontario Nurses' Association, said the health centre's decision to move in-patient beds is "unacceptable for patients" and will "do nothing" to help the area recruit or retain nurses.

"Nurses have said time and time again that they would like to work within the communities where they live. We are committed to our communities. We want to provide care to those that live around us, to our neighbours, to other members."

Arris called on the province to stop the Durham in-patient beds from being moved.

"It is not beyond [Health Minister Sylvia Jones's] power or her scope to stop the closure of hospitals," she said.

Province will 'support consistent and reliable care'

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Jones, Hannah Jensen, said the minister has been in contact with Shaw and Eccles. and the province "will be there to support consistent and reliable care" for the community. That includes the expansion of interdisciplinary primary care teams.

Jensen also noted "while the ministry provides funding to hospitals, they are independent corporations who have the responsibility and authority over their day-to-day operations, including what services are delivered at what sites."

Residents in the rural town of Durham, Ont., have launched a Save Our Hospital campaign after it was announced the emergency department would be shortening its hours and in-patient beds would be moved to Kincardine and Walkerton. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)

Bruce-Grey MPP Rick Byers of the Progressive Conservatives said future discussions may need to consider other options for the hospital.

One idea that has been floated is for the Durham hospital to leave the South Bruce Grey Health Centre network to become an independent site or join with the Hanover and District Hospital.

"This would be a decision that the health care organizations would need to consider. I've asked them to do so," Byers said.

"You want those decisions to be made by health-care operators, not politicians. But I think it's the time now to assess that and whether an alternative configuration would make sense."

Town 'being pushed around'

People speaking out as part of the Save Our Hospital campaign believe the province could be doing more.

Garry Miller, who was born and raised north of Durham, said he has supported Premier Doug Ford in the past, but doesn't like the province's lack of action on this issue.

"I saw Doug Ford on TV bragging about how he is for the people. Get off your ass, Doug, and get up here and do something about it," he said.

"That doesn't sit well with people in the small town that are being pushed around."

Donna Clark feels the situation in Durham should be a warning to other rural communities in the province.

"I think every small hospital in the country should be aware something's happening," she said. "It's not good."