The final South West Local Health Integration Network meeting in the Bruce and Grey Region is in the books.
LHIN officials are holding a total of 17 meetings in Southwestern Ontario to inform residents about their plans for the future of our health care, and wanted input in return.
Monday night’s meeting in Kincardine at the Davidson Centre had the largest turn out of the 14 held to date, with about four hundred residents on hand.
LHIN Chair Norm Gamble says they have until now, averaged 50 to 100 people.
Most in attendance however, wanted to deal with the future of the Kincardine hospital than ask the LHIN general questions.
The Friends of the Kincardine Hospital asked why their efforts to deamalgamate the Kincardine Hospital from the South Bruce Grey Health Centre are being denied.
Chair Greg McClelland says they got what they call a “non answer” to the question, and also says doctors in attendance spoke out about how they aren’t informed of changes and that they are dictated to.
Gamble says while the focus of the meeting was not supposed to be on the Kincardine hospital, they managed to tackle that issue, and still focus on the goal of the LHIN.
The Southwest LHIN is working on a blueprint for how healthcare should be across the region.
Gamble says they should have results compiled from their meetings by November.
He admits though, it will only be a guideline for what types of services should be localized, which ones people can travel for and which ones could be considered provincial.
It will not outline specifically what services should be offered in what locations; a more detailed report from the LHIN is not expected for about three years.