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

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates presented a petition signed by over 4,000 residents at Queen’s Park Wednesday, calling for the restoration of two 24-hour urgent care centres in Niagara.

In a press conference held Wednesday, Gates called the closures “unacceptable” for both him and the residents in the area.

“I stand with my community 100 per cent and I’m calling on this government to do the right thing.” said Gates.

The NDP MPP is calling for the use of emergency funding to allow for appropriate staffing by the Ford government.

Sue Hotte, chair of Niagara Health Coalition, said during the media event that with over 150 staffing shortages, there simply isn’t enough funding from the government to fill these vacancies.

MPP Gates presents petitions to save 24/7 health care at Douglas Memorial Urgent Care

From @Wayne_Gates #onpolihttps://t.co/3EV1scVOuh

— Ontario NDP Press Office, K.C. (@ONDPPressOffice) November 22, 2023

Gates said the closures only worsen the province-wide crisis being experienced in healthcare with patients forced to attend hospitals for all matters.

Earlier this year Niagara Health announced urgent care centres in Port Colborne and Fort Erie would permanently shorten their hours to close overnight in order to redeploy staff across the region.

READ MORE: Residents call for 2 Niagara urgent care centres to be reopened overnight

“The people of Niagara deserve health care that they can access 24/7,” said Gates. “No one should have to drive upwards of half an hour away to get to a hospital, especially now that winter is quickly approaching”

Since July, 24/7 urgent care services in Port Colborne and Fort Erie have been reduced to operating only between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

According to Gates, 8,000 people in the area do not have family doctors, further necessitating urgent care centres for health services.

Niagara Health said they only have an average of one patient every three hours at night at UCCs, with approximately 75 per cent of patients arriving between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Following a rally held by residents earlier this month, Niagara Health said it continues to struggle with a shortage of health human resources, including emergency trained physicians and that at that time, it had no plans to revisit the hours at urgent care centres.

Despite this, residents, advocates and local representatives say the fight isn’t over and they will continue to call for operations to be restored, especially with winter months fast approaching.

WATCH MORE: Overnight closures of 2 Niagara Urgent Care Centres face backlash