On the evening of June 17th, concerned citizens of Port Colborne come out to hear the findings of a report carried out by the Ontario Health Coalition. As most citizens of Ontario know, a major round of hospital restructuring and cuts are underway across the province, and in light of this the Ontario Health Coalition interviewed 50 paramedics across the providence to hear their views on the consequences of closing local hospital emergency departments.

"Absurb".. "Idiotic".. are just some of the words used to describe the provincial plan. Every paramedic interviewed stated that ambulances cannot replace the functions provided in local hospitals emergency departments, they expressed that this plan will only put patience at risk, worsen wait times, deprive communities of access to care or cause poor outcomes and even death.

You can hear the interview with Natalie Mehra about her new Paramedics Report, unveiled last night at the public forum in Port Colborne. Just go to the Ontario Today archives (url below), and scroll down to item five for June 18.

URL: http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/story_archive.html

VOLUNTEER with the Niagara Health Coalition:
Call Sue Hotte at 905-932-1646 or
Susan Howard-Azzeh at 905-984-6515