Calls grow for province to do more in rural healthcare crisis

Local politicians are calling on the province to do more when it comes to rural healthcare as communities across Ontario continue to face crises in hospitals.

Around three weeks ago, Paul Klauck went to Douglas Memorial Hospital’s Urgent care Centre for what he says felt like heartburn.

“Without those guys there, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Paul. “I went down there, they proceeded to do blood work. Then this lady I had, a nurse, Christine, she hooked me up to the EKG, and that’s the last thing I remember.”

Paul suffered a serious heart attack while at the Urgent Care Centre, but the staff there were successful at saving his life.

“They gave me CPR, they padded me, I was essentially gone for two minutes,” he said.

READ MORE: 1 in 5 Ontario ER patients needed a family doctor, not urgent care: auditor

“I also thank them for not giving up because if they didn’t, you know, if they stopped, I wouldn’t be here, and my wife and my parents and my family would be planning a funeral.”

Paul says he’s lucky that the urgent care centre was open when he needed it to be, but Douglas Memorial’s hours are currently restricted to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“It doesn’t matter what time of day or night it is, if you have chest pain, or you need urgent care… I think we need urgent care at least 24 hours a day.” urged Paul.

In Fort Erie, MPP Wayne Gates says accessing healthcare is an issue. He points to Douglas Memorial and the fact that it is not open 24/7 and says the province needs to do more.

“We need this urgent care open 24/7, I’m asking the government, the health minister to open it back up 24/7.” said Gates.

WATCH MORE: MPP presents petition to restore 2 overnight urgent care centres in Niagara

“We’re a growing population, we have a high number of seniors in this community and we don’t have enough family doctors to service them.”

Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie held a press conference Thursday where she similarly called on the Ford Government to invest more in rural health care, pointing to Sault Sainte Marie.

“This morning we just learned that 10-thousand patients in Sault-Saint-Marie all lost access to their primary care provider all in one fell swoop, the government knew about this and failed to act.”

In a statement made in response to the calls, a spokesperson for the Minister of Health says the province is continuing to invest in healthcare in rural areas across Ontario.