Niagara Centre MPP holding Open House on Port Colborne hospital’s reduced hours
Published October 10, 2023 at 4:18 pm
On July 5, Niagara Health shut down overnight hours at both the Port Colborne Urgent Care Unit and the Fort Erie Urgent Care Unit at 8 p.m. every evening. Both centres reopen at 10 a.m. the following day.
To that end, Burch is holding his Open House on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Port Colborne Legion (67 Clarence St.)
“Looking forward to our important Town Hall discussion on the Port Colborne Urgent Care,” said Burch in a public notice. “Please join us this Thursday at the Port Colborne Legion to make your voice heard. This event is free and open to the public, all are welcome to attend.”
Burch, who has both the Port Colborne and Welland hospitals in his riding, was critical of the Ford government healthcare cutbacks back in July, saying, “People deserve to have healthcare services close to home when they need them. Over the last several months, we’ve seen after-hour emergency surgical services removed from the Welland Hospital and starting today, the Port Colborne and Fort Erie Urgent Care had their hours reduced.”
He added that the Lake Erie side of Niagara – the south end – is underserviced with the overnight closures.
“Around 10,000 people in Port Colborne are without a family physician, and folks that rely on the Port Colborne and Fort Erie Urgent Care Centres will need to travel to other facilities in Niagara which often already operate above 100 per cent capacity. South Niagara families are being disproportionately impacted.”