Doctors at the Meaford hospital are worried the facility could actually close within a few years.
The chief of Medical staff, Dr. Nathalie Sauriol says eliminating day surgeries will result in less ambulatory care and a reduction in the use of the diagnostic imaging department.
Dr. Sauriol says the plan by Grey Bruce Health Services would only save about 500 thousand dollars a year, while the organization is faced with a 17 million dollar deficit.
She worries the closing of the OR for elective surgery will make the hospital redundant and as GBHS looks at further savings the Hospital could close.
Southampton and Markdale hospitals are also looking at the possiblity of losing their day surgeries under the plan.
Dr. Sauriol says it doesn’t make sense to cut back on services in Meaford, especially when you consider the area is growing in population and many of those new residents are seniors.
The chief of Medical staff says residents need to get engaged and help come up with solutions to the budget issues being faced by local hospitals.
One issue with the provinces calculation Dr. Sauriol points to is transportation which is much more expensive in rural areas than it is in urban centres.
