A couple of gatherings were held over the weekend in support of the Durham Hospital.
Save the Durham Hospital Co-Chair Jana White says they saw a good turnout of people over the Friday and Saturday as they stood on the corners of Highway 6 and 4 in Durham trying to garner support to keep the hospital serving the community.
“I think it was an effort to let people know, people who were driving through town on the way to their summer spots who may not be aware of the situation, and there are still folks in our community who may not be aware of the situation,” says White.
As people stood on the corners wearing their Save Our Hospital shirts and holding signs echoing similar sentiments, cars also drove by honking their horns in solidarity.
Durham Hospital Gathering (Photo provided by Jana White)
“I think lots of people are very concerned and people feel that they don’t know how to support the cause or to make change and so this is just one way for people to come together and share those feelings and to send that message together,” says White.
South Bruce Grey Health Centre is set to complete its relocation of the Durham Hospital 10 inpatient beds today (June 3) to other hospitals in Kincardine and Walkerton.
The Durham Hospital would be reduced to an urgent and emergent care centre, operating from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The hospital organization put out a statement recently saying nearly 50 per cent of its registered nursing positions in Durham are vacant.
“So we are approaching June 3 and we want everyone to know that we will continue to fight for our hospital,” says White.
The group was also collecting signatures, which White says will hopefully be read into the Provincial Legislature in the next couple of weeks.
She adds while there are no current plans for their group to attend the Provincial Legislature, it’s not off the table.
A group of people from Grey Bruce recently took a bus down to the Provincial Legislature in Toronto to voice their opposition to the services changes at the hospital.
People interested in learning more can visit Save The Durham Hospital website here.