The citizens stood in front of the driveway leading up to the hospital this morning to protest the cuts to out-patient physiotherapy service at the facility.
Hospital staff, members of OPSEU, Grey-Bruce Labour Council President David Trumble, and members of Kincardine Council were also at the rally.
The South Bruce Grey Health Centre Board last month decided to contract out their out-patient physiotherapy service to PT Health which will take affect in mid-August.
In-patient service will still be covered by the hospital.
Organizers Isabelle Jones and Arla Dahmer put together this information picket and Jones admits that she didnt think they would have this many people show up.
She says it is nice to also see people from Ripley and Tiverton who also feel strongly about the cuts.
Patients who now want physiotherapy have to travel to Walkerton or Chesley but Jones wonders if the services at those hospitals will be eliminated in the future.
She says if the Board decides to cut physiotherapy or other services at those hospitals, where else can they go to?
One of speakers at the rally was former Kincardine Mayor Glenn Sutton who suggested that the hospital should separate themselves from the SBGHC Board and look after operations themselves.
But Doctor Lisa Roth — who is also objecting the cuts — feels they need to worry about what is happening now rather than looking ahead.
Doctor Roth says none of the doctors she has spoken to had any conversations about de-malgamating adding there are a lot of good things about being associated with an amalgamated hospital system.
Doctor Roth says the idea contracting out physiotherapy service at the hospital is a short-sighted decision.
She says services like these are a very good use of the taxpayers dollars.
She says a lot of people use the out-patient physiotherapy service but would not say how many are currently using it.
Some of the people later took their protest in front of the Kincardine constituency office of Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell.
Mitchell was not around when the protest arrived.
