Residents Need to Demand Hospital Funding

Letter to the Editor

I was born and raised in the Galt section of what is now Cambridge. My family was newly immigrated in the 50’s to a distant and cold climate. My Father struggled in his new business and started his family in this small city. We relied on the gentle kindness of the citizens of this community.

My Godmother and Godfather helped our family transition in language, culture and translation matters. My Godmother had multiple health issues and my childhood recollections bring to mind lengthy stays in the hospital for multiple surgeries. As a child it seemed like months, but an average length of stay for a gallbladder removal was 2 weeks.

In order to pay for the healthcare bills, I remember my Godfather bicycling monthly to Cambridge Memorial Hospital to pay for his hospital bill. He did yard work for his family doctor to help pay off his bill. He worked 40 hours a week and could never earn enough to buy his own home.

I remember family suppers where one of the discussion topics was that we enjoy good health because my Godfather’s experiences could easily befall us.

It wasn’t until July 1966, that Ontario established and enacted OMSIP (Ontario Medical Services Insurance Plan). This provided universal healthcare for the citizens of Ontario.
Ontarians could finally find relief from health care debt.

I am concerned that coverage is slowly being whittled away. It has happened slowly through delisting of services such as physiotherapy and eye examinations. It continues and is happening in cutbacks to our hospital. I am worried that healthcare services are declining for the most vulnerable residents of our community (the underemployed, undersupported, underaged and seniors).

The average Ontario citizen receives $1000 in healthcare funding. A Cambridge resident receives $600. This is a shortfall of $54 million if we were receiving average funding. There is no doubt that Cambridge residents are being underfunded.

Cambridge is one of the fastest growing communities in the province. The population is expected to increase from the present population of 135.000 to 150,000 in 2011. That represents an increase of 8.8%. The healthcare needs of this community are not being met.

You can see it in the wait times in the emergency departments. You can see it in beds being unavailable for incoming admissions. You can see it in sick people being discharged. You can see it in surgery cancellations. You can see it in service cuts.

We are not the only community facing these challenges, but we cannot expect premium health care on “shoestring dollars”. We cannot afford to be complacent or silent in demanding the funding that we need and deserve.