Calls in community for two hospitals in Brampton at public meeting
By Bill Rea

Joe McReynolds, board chair of the Central West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) addressed the audience at the recent meeting to discuss the future of Peel Memorial Hospital.

The old Peel Memorial Hospital site in Brampton may have problems, but there are many in the community who want it left open as fully functioning facility.

That message came from many of the more than 200 people who were on hand for a community meeting in Brampton recently.

The session, held at the Pearson Convention centre on Steeles Avenue, was hosted by the Central West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and was aimed at gathering public input for a task force charged by LHIN to develop a plan for the future of the site. The old facility has been replaced by the new Brampton Civic Hospital, which opened late last year.

LHIN reported the province has committed at least $95 million in capital funds to revitalize the Peel Memorial campus.

But many at the meeting were adamant that the Brampton area needs two functioning hospitals.

Heart Lake area resident Roz Feldman was passionate in her conviction that one hospital for the area is not enough.

Those who were registered at the meeting were divided into about a dozen groups to come up with what they wanted to see the old facility used for, and emergency care was high on the priority list for most of those groups.

"We need a second hospital," declared Heart Lake resident Roz Feldman. "One hospital is not enough."

She was angry that the new facility was provided as a replacement to the old site, rather than as an accompaniment.

Feldman said this LHIN has more growth than any other in the province, but it ranks 14th in terms of funding.

"We can't get into the emergency room of our own hospital," she charged.

Peel Region Chairman Emil Kolb, who sits on the task force, pointed out this is strictly a provincial matter.

He said there have been 12 studies conducted since 1995 on the infrastructure of the hospital, and Price Waterhouse Coopers was hired to do a 13th. Kolb said they did a summary of the 12 previous studies, and found there was some credibility to the Kennedy wing of the hospital, built in 1984. As far as the rest of the facility was concerned, he said they found it would cost millions to bring up to Building Code standards.

Barbara Pitts, of Price Waterhouse Coopers, tried to explain the findings of the study, but she had a hard time getting the message out through the heckling to which she was subjected.

"Can we have one more study after this one?" one man asked sarcastically.

But Pitts maintained the structure is not up to the standards of the Building Code, adding there have been no major upgrades in the last 10 years. "The approach has been patch and maintain only," she remarked.

Joe McReynolds, board chair of the LHIN, told the audience this is a great opportunity, with a site that's currently not being used, but is available to provide some health services.

He added the goal is to have the task force complete its work by the end of February, with a plan in place for the Peel Memorial by the end of April.

He also pointed out the new Brampton Civic Hospital is state-of-the-art, although it's experiencing some difficulties in its early days. The province has appointed a supervisor, and the hope is the answers will soon be found. "We'll be watching, and I'm sure you'll be watching," McReynolds remarked.

He also agreed a second hospital is needed, but stressed the first priority is to get the new one up and going.

"Let's not beat around the bush," one man called out from the audience. "We cannot live with one hospital."