Welland Hospital fight

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The fight to keep Welland’s hospital open wages on. A public meeting was held in Fonthill Thursday night to discuss the possibility of the hospital closing.

After presenting the Ontario government last month with a petition with 14 000 signatures to stop the closure of the Welland hospital, residents are still in the dark. Two years ago the province gave the green-light to build a new hospital in Niagara Falls.

The plan calls for 5 aging hospitals in the Niagara area to close their doors. They include hospitals in Port Colborne, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. They will be replaced with a new hospital in Niagara Falls, leaving two hospitals to serve more than 400 000 people in the Niagara area.

The Niagara health system plans on demolishing the existing hospital and replace it with two new buildings which include a long term care facility. The two-storey building will have 120 beds. The second building will provide services like x-rays and ultrasounds. Residents will also have access to surgical specialists and a breast screening program.

While there is no timeline for the closure, some residents already feel like their services are being cut and the population in the city of Welland is only expected to get larger. The city is estimated to grow by 10 000 the year 2031.

The Niagara health system says its healthcare plan is looking ahead 10 to 20 years in order to meet future needs in the area