MINDEN ER CLOSING
By Deb Crossen
On April 20, the community of Minden was shaken when the CEO and Board Chair of the Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) announced the Board's decision to close the Minden ER and consolidate emergency and in-patient services to Haliburton hospital effective June 1, 2023. The announcement came just six weeks before the beginning of peak summer season, when the population of Haliburton Country almost triples due to the return of cottagers and tourists.
Since then, community leaders and individuals have banded together to get petitions signed, write letters to representatives at the municipal, provincial and federal level, post lawn signs and so much more. The main group, Save the Minden ER, is looking for an urgent public meeting with the CEO and Board Chair of HHHS to obtain full transparency on the decision-making process, an immediate reassessment of the closure’s timing and access to the organization’s transition plan. The community is also seeking information on the closing’s impact on vulnerable populations, healthcare staff, regional growth, and the local infrastructure.
According to a statement from HHHS president and CEO Carolyn Plummer and board chair David O’Brien, the decision to close the Minden emergency department was made in response to an ongoing shortage of nursing and medical staff.
How did this happen? Almost two years before this official closure announcement, the hospital was facing staffing issues. In November of 2021, in an open letter to residents of Haliburton County, Plummer was quoted as saying, “ongoing challenges of staff shortages could lead to the closures, and that the situation could persist for some time.”
In July, 2022, HHHS launched a public awareness campaign that again warned of the potential for ED closures in both Minden and Haliburton due to physician and nurse shortages. On the August long weekend of 2022, according to Global News, 14 Ontario hospitals either reduced ER hours or shut them down due to staffing shortages. At a December 8 HHHS Board meeting, CEO Plummer told Board members that the organization reported “more than two dozen 'close calls' in 2022 where emergency departments in Minden and Haliburton have been on the brink of temporary closure.”
And Minden's not alone. Any Google search will show you that hospitals across Canada have been dealing with staffing shortages, made even more problematic since the pandemic. Rolling closures, reduced hours, decreasing the number of beds available result in longer wait times that are now rampant, especially in rural Ontario.
Has the Ontario government remained silent? Back in August of 2022, Ontario Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, when commenting on the closure of Emergency Departments at hospitals across the province, said, “My message to the people of Ontario is, you have a government who is actively engaged and making sure that you have a local hospital that is available, that is sufficiently staffed.”
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario that provides independent analysis on the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the provincial economy and related matters, released a report in March 2023 reviewing the Province’s health sector spending plan. Here are some excerpts from that report:
There were at least 145 unplanned emergency department closures in Ontario in 2022. Prior to the emergency department closures in 2022, the FAO is aware of only one unplanned emergency department closure since 2006 due to a lack of doctors.
Ontario hospitals have identified a lack of available staff, including nurses and physicians, as the key issue causing longer emergency department wait times and closures.
Overall, while the Province’s measures do address physician shortages in rural emergency departments, which contributes to emergency department closures, the measures do not provide for a sustained increase in emergency department staffing across the Province.
About 40 percent of emergency departments in Ontario are in small population centres and those emergency departments represent 99 percent of all emergency department closures.
In the 2022 Ontario budget, more than $4 billion was pledged for a number of Health Human Resources initiatives, including incentives for nurses, increasing healthcare capacity, and training and recruitment programs.
According to a news release from Save the Minden ER, MPP Laurie Scott, who was actively involved in the decision throughout the process, has supported HHHS’ decision to consolidate services at Haliburton hospital, despite concerns raised by stakeholders and the community. Scott claims she has been assured that Ministry of Health and Ontario Health will work with HHHS to facilitate a smooth transition while continuing to ensure high-quality patient care.
While the Minden ER may not be the busiest in the Kawarthas, due to its proximity to other major hospitals, it is vital as a gateway to those in need of immediate critical care and to take some of the pressure off other area Emergency Rooms. Here are the numbers: In 2022: the Minden ER treated over 12,000 patients; Haliburton treated 8,000; Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay saw approximately 45,000 patients; and Peterborough Regional Health Centre had more than 90,000 patients through their ER.
The story doesn't end here. You can follow the community group on Facebook at Save the Minden ER and, of course, media outlets will keep up with the news from all sides.