SooToday received the following letter from Lisa Vezeau-Allen on the state of health care locally.
Last year our community had 10,000 individuals lose their doctor virtually overnight when the Group Health Centre was forced to deroster patients due to physician shortages, and a further 3,500 announced this past spring.
Now further cuts were made to our already fragile health-care system when on June 5th the Ministry of Health notified Sault Area Hospital of a 15-per cent reduction in physician services, equating to nearly 11 hours of coverage per day.
This will create longer waits for our citizens who are already underserviced and many without primary care.
Our community’s health is not an afterthought.
During the provincial campaign, from the doors I knocked on to public debates, our community's health care was of top concern, voiced from both young and old, from students to families and retirees.
This latest cut from the Ministry of Health jeopardizes thousands of residents and further stresses a system not able to meet demand.
Lisa M. Vezeau-Allen
Sault Ste. Marie NDP Candidate of Record