It’s a numbers game and it’s reality in today’s health care system.
President and CEO of South Bruce Grey Health Centre Paul Davies was reacting to meeting held Tuesday in Walkerton where concerns were expressed about changes to what are called “re-thermalized” meals from the previous cafeteria style foods.
Davies says patient occupancies in the four hospitals in SBGHC have dropped 50 per cent in the last ten years.
He says the occupancy rates between the sites fluctuates wildly as well.
Davies says it can be as low as two patients or as high as 25.
He says as a result of the new reality, the food preparation and delivery system we had before just doesn’t work economically now.
Davies said they had to look for something different.
He did say the one thing he got out of Tuesday’s meeting was that the hospitals need to keep an eye on the quality of the food its providing within the resources it has.
Food wasn’t the only issue that came up at the Walkerton meeting.
OPSEU spokesperson Dave Cox says with the myriad changes in the past four years, has led to a negative morale in the hospitals.
