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Canadian health System in Jeopardy

 

2 deaths of NRIs at Brampton Civic Hospital, spurred 5000 marchers for Better Health Care
The topic has been hotly debated for weeks on Indian Radios and NRI News Papers

Brampton,Ontario, Dec. 09, 2007
Santokh Singh

After Harnek Sidhu's death, one more death of Amarjit Narwal, 42 was reported to Toronro Star by Narwal's cousin, Inderjit Nijjar. Inderjit told reporters that Narwal, who had suffered a stroke, was taken to emergency at Brampton Civic by ambulance from Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. Narwal was put on blood thinning medication, but slipped into a coma and died less than 24 hours after being admitted to Brampton Civic.

"He died because of the lack of doctors,'' said Nijjar, who accompanied his cousin to the hospital. ``He wasn't looked after at all. The doctor never saw his face, just ordered the medication over the phone. Until we started screaming, nobody came to see him. Then finally the doctor came, looked at him and the chart and said, `Sorry, it's too late.'"

On Sunday, by gathering at Brampton City Hall, more than 5000 residents (mostly NRIs) , marched a one-kilometre route along Queen St. E, in the freezing weather from the Rose Theatre to the old Peel Memorial Hospital site. They staged a peaceful rally, carrying signs that read:


More than 5000 residents (mostly NRIs) , marched a one-kilometre route along Queen St. E, in the freezing weather from the Rose Theatre to the old Peel Memorial Hospital site -Click for bigger view
Photos by Jagdish Grewal [jagdish@punjabipost.ca]

 

  • "We demand full capacity," "Reduce wait times," and "Treat us with a smile, we are patients."
  • We are concerned the shortage of staff and beds, long wait times, and lack of funding at the new facility.
  • We wants Brampton Civic to operate at full capacity immediately, including hiring additional doctors and nurses.
  • One hospital can't serve the needs of a community of half a million people.

Rajinder Saini, a rally organizer, editor of Parvasi Weekly newspaper and host of Parvasi Radio said:

  • People are outraged. They want answers. What happened to Mr. Sidhu and Mr. Narwal can happen to anyone.
  • The people have complained that hospital staff have been rude. There are such long waiting times in the emergency. We have seen attitude problems, shortage of staff, and less number of beds
  • We came here from India for the best health care in the world and now we're scared to go to that hospital.

Ms. Colleen Beaumier, Brampton West, Liberal Party MP, a longtime resident of Brampton showed up at the rally to show support for her constituents. She said:

  • These are my people who are being cheated on healthcare.
  • I took my husband to emergency at the Brampton Civic Hospital in November and saw 60 people in the waiting room with only one doctor on call. I reiterate Saini’s statement that the old Peel Memorial site should be re-opened.

The William Osler Health Centre posted a statement on their website that outlines their timeframe for re-opening the old hospital. The statement reads, “Services at Peel Memorial Hospital are temporarily discontinued while the building is being decommissioned and readied for redevelopment which is slated for the 2009/10 timeframe.”

Jagtar Shergill of NDP party, Brampton West, who lost to Colleen Beaumier said, the South Asian community, which helped to raise millions for the hospital, also feels betrayed that the hospital was built as a public-private partnership, after the Liberals campaigned against so-called P3 projects in the 2003 election

Dr. Naveed Mohammad, the hospital emergency chief said, the average wait time is 212 minutes, slighter higher than it was at Peel Memorial.

The Brampton Civic Hospital's Communication director said that although the hospital was built for 608 beds, they currently have 479 beds to start. “This is what we are funded for,” she said. “These are more beds than we had at Peel Memorial. And over the next four years, we will be ramping up to 608 beds.”

 

 

Click for bigger view




More Photos by Kanwaljit Kanwal, Toronto