Good news for the emergency department at Saugeen Memorial Hospital in Southampton.
At the end of August, Bayshore Broadcasting News reported that the Ontario government had extended Health Force Ontario support to the facility for an additional 30 days to keep doctors available for E-R shifts.
Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith says a deal is now in place to extend Health Force support for another six months.
Smith says from the Ministry of Health’s point of view, Health Force Ontario support is a temporary measure, and the next sixth months allows the hospital and community to come up with a plan and recruit doctors for the long-term.
He says the negotiation process is ongoing and appreciates the sixth months, and they’re going to do all they can to recruit more doctors.
Health Force Ontario support for Grey-Bruce Health Services to fund locum physicians to staff the E-R at Saugeen Memorial was originally supposed to end at the end of August.
The end of the funding and resources could have led to temporary closures of the emergency department on evenings and weekends, prompting intense efforts by municipal, hospital, and provincial officials to find a solution.
The original decision to extend the support by 30 days was meant to give hospital, provincial, and municipal officials time to work out an agreement to keep doctors available for E-R service.
Smith says the result is the six month plan, and that time was needed for “dotting the I’s” and getting comfortable with the language of the agreement, something that the town is satisfied with the deal.
The Mayor says Bruce Power’s offer to contribute 500 thousand dollars towards doctor recruitment in Saugeen Shores and Kincardine over the next two years will help attract physicians willing to do E-R shifts.
Smith says they’ve offered to hire a full time recruiter as long as the communities identify what their needs are.
He says Bruce Power has a part to play in doctor recruitment because good emergency services in local hospitals are important for the company’s employee recruitment efforts.