Ford signals no plan to intervene on Douglas Memorial urgent care cuts

Premier Doug Ford does not appear to be interested in ordering Niagara Health to backtrack on its decision to close urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne on Fridays and on long weekends this summer.

Ford was in St. Catharines on Wednesday for an announcement about a combined $6.8 million being distributed to the cities of Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland for their share of the Building Faster Fund as a result of those municipalities being on pace to reach housing targets.

Fielding questions from reporters on a number of topics unrelated to the announcement, Ford was asked about recent pushes from local governments in Fort Erie and Port Colborne for the province to reverse the recent choice to reduce their urgent care hours this summer.

Ford said reductions to service are “always very concerning,” but suggested the challenge of Niagara Health being understaffed is of greater concern.

“These are summer hours and you can’t get the personnel,” said Ford.

“That’s what it comes down to,” he added.

Niagara Health has said the changes are intended to help preserve 24/7 operations at emergency departments in Niagara Falls, Welland and St. Catharines.

According to the health system, 111 physician shifts remain unfilled across all sites this summer. It said more than half of those shifts are at the Marotta Family Hospital emergency department in St. Catharines, with most of the remainder at the Niagara Falls site.

Ford said if this wasn’t the case, and that there were enough qualified healthcare professionals to cover those shifts, then he would have no issue playing a role in making sure the urgent care centres are open seven days a week this summer.

“If I had doctors and nurses all over the place, yes, that’s not a problem at all,” he said, pointing out that his government has invested $3.1 billion in the region, including the cost of the new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls set to open in 2028, which will result in the permanent closure of those urgent care centres.

“By no means has this region been ignored,” said Ford, admitting that “better ways of delivering” healthcare can always be worked on.

He said primary care is what the government believes is the most important.

“That’s where we’re going to focus our funds and our resources,” he said.

“The problem is human resources,” he said about the reductions.

A motion passed by Fort Erie council last year contains several requests, including that the Minister of Health commit to funding all services at the new hospital without using the funding allocated for Douglas Memorial, and that that funding allocation be set aside to support a redeveloped model that keeps primary care services in Fort Erie.

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