It’s wait and see for the community action group lobbying to save the emergency room in St. Marys from reduced hours.
Members of the group met with representatives from the South West Local Health Integration Network last Thursday, when they presented what they believe are real solutions to closing the ER at St. Marys Memorial Hospital from midnight to 8 a.m., as proposed by the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in its Vision 2013 plan.
“We were extremely pleased with the LHIN,” commented community action group member Gayle Beattie on Monday morning. “They were extremely receptive to what we had to say.”
The group went to the meeting armed with 60 PowerPoint slides and two four-inch thick binders filled with information that supports the ideas that were presented.
Some of the group’s solutions include re-directing patients to a less-busy ER within the alliance, sharing doctors and nurses among all four sites to provide a greater scope of practice and training and mentoring nurses for the ER.
Beattie said the group is also optimistic after the Ontario Health Ministry recently approved interim physician coverage through Health Force Ontario for Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia, which like St. Marys’ hospital, has its ER threatened due to a shortage of doctors.
Beattie said she would be in contact with the LHIN this week to discuss whether this was an option for the town.
She added the only difference between the two communities is that Petrolia had the support of Blue Water Health, whereas “we do not have the support of the HPHA.”  
Mayor Jamie Hahn said he believes the group made a good impression on the LHIN, and that he was hopeful it will consider alternatives to reducing ER hours.
He said the group understands that St. Marys cannot have all of the services available locally that larger centres like London and Stratford offer. But all-day ER coverage is a service the town cannot afford to lose, he added.  
“One of the highest priorities in the immediate future for our vibrant town, a town that has sustained a growth rate significantly exceeding other areas of Perth County, is the retention of our ER.”
Mayor Hahn said he wanted to be clear that the community action group was not  out to “bash” members of the HPHA or Local Advisory Committee, or to criticize  Stratford General Hospital. He noted he recently toured the new north wing at Stratford General, the final phase of the hospital’s redevelopment project to which the town contributed $300,000. He said the new facilities would be a tremendous asset to this community for years to come.
With presentations from both the community action group and HPHA complete, it’s now up to the LHIN to make its decision, something that isn’t expected immediately.
If the concepts are approved by the LHIN, which could still take up to 60 days once it receives official documentation from the HPHA, the alliance will still need months to establish a plan that ensures the changes are implemented safely and responsibly, said Dr. Fred Jewson, chief of staff at St. Marys Memorial and a member of the HPHA board. He added there is no date for when  the hours at the ER will be reduced.
“The people in health care are taking this very seriously,” Jewson added, “... and to have anyone suggest that this is going to happen within six months is totally irresponsible.”
Jewson said his suspicion is that the Ontario government will step in, as it’s done in Petrolia, to try to keep the ER open 24/7.