The leader of Ontario’s NDP party is questioning the move by the Grey Bruce Health Unit to close its Walkerton office to the public.
During Question Period on Monday — Andrea Horwath asked Premier Dalton McGuinty if he thought plans to close the local health unit entirely, is a good idea?
McGuinty turned the question over to Minister of Health Deb Matthews who said she will look into the matter.
Horwath says it’s concerning considering the move just leaves one public health office open for an entire region that’s larger than the province of Prince Edward Island.
Horwath says the decision seems to have been made without any transparency, without any information going to the public or any engagement with the public.
She says in fact, the local board of health was not engaged nor was the mayor even aware that this was in the works.
As Bayshore Broadcasting reported to you last week, Brockton Mayor David Inglis doesn’t believe the situation was handled properly.
He says consultation should have been done with Bruce County as well as the public before making the move.
Director of Operations and Program Development Chris Munn says some clinical services will continue to be offered at the Walkerton office such as the sexual health clinic and the vaccination programs – but only on set dates.
Munn says the decision to close the Walkerton office to the public was part of the Health Units centralizing process of resources and says this was fast tracked with the recent retirement of the offices clerical staff member.
