Hardeman Presents Bonnie Brae Petition

QUEEN’S PARK – Today, the first day the Ontario Legislature resumed, Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman presented a petition signed by hundreds of constituents calling on the government to keep Bonnie Brae’s Health Care Centre’s 80 long-term care beds in Oxford.

“I agree with the need to upgrade the Bonnie Brae facility but I have serious concerns about any solution that would move these long-terms care beds out of Oxford,” said Hardeman. “We need to look at other options to redevelop the beds here in our community.”

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is currently considering a proposal to sell the beds which would result in them moving to London.

The petition cited a number of reasons that the long-term care beds should be kept in Tavistock including the fact that waits for long-term care beds in Oxford can be 134 days longer than in Middlesex and that Tavistock receives referrals from Waterloo-Wellington CCAC which has among the longest wait times in the province.
“Accepting the proposal to move these beds to London would create challenges not only for the current patients and their family and friends, but also for the many Oxford residents who will need a long-term care bed in the future,” said Hardeman.
Hardeman spoke to the Minister of Health about the negative impact that moving the beds would have and wrote to her following the public meeting to share concerns that were raised. In addition Hardeman has met with Michael Barrett, CEO of the South-west LHIN, and Rachel Kampus, Director, Performance Improvement and Compliance Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to express his concerns and urge them to look at options which would keep the beds in Oxford.

The chairs of Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Ingersoll, as well as the CEO of the Woodstock Hospital, wrote to the Ministry of Health expressing their concern about the proposal to move these long-term care beds out of Oxford.

“All three Oxford hospitals currently have seniors admitted as patients waiting for long-term care beds,” said Hardeman. “If the Minister of Health decreases the number of long-term care beds in Oxford County that problem will increase and impact the level of health care for all.”
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For more information, contact:
Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford
(416) 325-1239