Caught off guard by talks of Toronto East General Hospital possibly merging with The Scarborough Hospital, a group of concerned residents have organized.
Friends of Toronto East General Hospital have come together in the wake of the news and the lack of public consultation by the hospitals; the group has organized a community meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 29 at the East York Civic Centre.Michael Shapcott is the co-chair of the new committee."There might be a good case to be made both business-wise and in the community," he said. "Our biggest concern is that the process of a possible merger appears to have been launched without community discussion."Shapcott heard about the possibility of "an alliance or integration" after reading a story in The Mirror in October. He looked into it and began speaking with neighbours who also expressed concern about the lack of communication from the hospital.TEGH CEO Rob Devitt and TSH CEO Dr. John Wright began exploring the idea last summer. It was endorsed by both boards and both hospitals have consulted with staff and physicians about the possibility, but neither had engaged the wider public."It's not that we're not being transparent. The way the process goes is we wanted to have a plan that people could actually look at and see the benefits and risks," Devitt said. "That's the point we're now just coming to."The hospitals hired a consultant to look into the benefits and the risks; that report is due any day. "No decision has been made one way or another," Devitt said. "This is only the beginning of the process."But, Shapcott - who has experience with hospital closures and health - is concerned a report is almost complete and yet no community consultation has taken place."I have a real concern that there is a report very near to completion yet there hasn't been a single iota of public consultation," he said. "Our observation from other conversations about mergers is that these things do tend to take on some momentum once consultants are involved." Shapcott knows how important TEGH is to the community. He has lived in the neighbourhood for seven years and he's spent a lot of time at TEGH."When you're sitting in the emergency ward or using other service you have a chance to chat with people," Shapcott said. "It's my observation the hospital is a very important part of the neighbourhood."A community consultation was held by Friends of The Scarborough Hospital Feb. 9 and many people from that community plan to attend next week's meeting in East York, but the focus will be on the questions and concerns of local residents."This really is for the people of East York and surrounding neighbourhoods to begin to engage on what's the future for our local hospital," Shapcott said.Devitt and possibly other representatives will be on hand at the meeting."I'm happy to go," he said. "The timing is really good." Shapcott said he and the other committee members are heading into the meeting with an open mind, but their initial reaction is a merger between TEGH and TSH isn't a good idea."It's safe to say people are very skeptical that there's a case to be made for a merger," he said.Shapcott added he understands hospitals and government are grappling with escalating health-care costs, but he believes efficiencies can be found in other ways."My mind is open that there may be a way for the two hospitals to collaborate, but I think just about every benefit can be done without having to physically merge the two hospitals," he said. Friends of Toronto East General Hospital don't claim to speak for the entire community, but rather the goal is to ensure we work toward a full and open consultative process. That begins with next week's meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave.