Slow and steady convalescence for battered Brampton hospital
July 21, 2008
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Gagandeep Ghuman
STAFF REPORTER
A campaign to recruit 200 nurses in 200 days. A separate centre in emergency for patients with less serious ailments. A diversity officer and community advisory council for better relations with residents.
Those are some of the initiatives underway to restore public confidence in Brampton Civic Hospital, after a bruising confrontation with the local community over long emergency room waits and alleged understaffing at the state-of-the-art facility.
"You can't imagine how big a change it is to move into a brand new hospital, with all new technology, but we are committed to fix all issues," says Ken White, the supervisor appointed by the province in December after the controversy spilled onto the streets.
Brampton Civic, which replaced the now-closed Peel Memorial Hospital in October, found itself in the eye of the storm when two deaths in the hospital provoked a volley of complaints.
More than 1,500 people, mostly from Brampton's large South Asian community, marched to protest problems they alleged contributed to the deaths of patients Harnek Sidhu, who died of pancreatitis, and Amarjit Narwal, who suffered a stroke. Hospital board chair Duncan Glaholt insisted there were no deficiencies in care.
The hospital, the first in Ontario to be built under a controversial public-private partnership, was already under fire from the Ontario Health Coalition, a group advocating against such funding for health care. The group claimed the funding model was responsible for doubling the cost of the hospital while shrinking the number of beds.
Those who marched in December are divided on how much things have improved since. Ranjit Singh Lopoke, leader of the Sri Guru Nanak Sikh Centre in Brampton, said there are fewer complaints now.
But Jagtar Shergill, co-chair of the local chapter of the Ontario Health Coalition, said many still prefer to go to Mississauga and Georgetown, where the average wait time to see a doctor in the emergency department is less than two hours.
Rajinder Saini, editor of Parvasi newspaper, which first ran the stories about patient deaths, said he still gets occasional letters of complaint. "They haven't contacted us ever since to tell what's happening," Saini said of the hospital.
For Shergill, the offered solutions still leave unanswered the questions that have bothered the community since it was determined Peel Memorial would not reopen.
"We still need to find out when and how they will increase the bed capacity in the hospital, and further reduce the wait time," Shergill said.
gghuman@thestar.ca
Toronto Star