People fight to save St. Paul’s Hospital from closing at town hall meeting
Posted May 26, 2015 11:47 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Some were so upset almost to the point of tears. Roughly 250 people packed the West End Community Centre auditorium for a town hall meeting to discuss the proposed closure and relocation of St. Paul’s Hospital. The meeting was an opportunity for people voice their concerns and find solutions to keep health care in the neighbourhood.
“It would be devastating to the community, it would be a giant blow to the community,” says Heidi on losing the existing hospital.
“Everyone who lives here and who needs it needs it to stay!” says David who is angry about the province’s decision to move the hospital to False Creek.
A majority believe the planned site is too far and there won’t be enough health care services for the West End’s growing population and shared their concerns through stories.
“When I was called for my kidney transplant three months ago, the doctor said we need you to get there as soon as you can, so there was a possibility, that if I hadn’t had lived this close I may not have had that transplant,” explains an emotional Shelly who at one point in the meeting was trying to hold back tears.
Some feel there are problems with building a new one in False Creek, especially in relation to transportation and transit.
“It would be so far away, how the hell I am going to get there. You know cabs are costly; ambulances are slow, so how the hell am I going to get there. I’m going to end up dying.”
Because the West End is so densely populated, a majority argue not having a hospital will be a blow to the community. Many people say they support keeping some sort of health care facility in the downtown area as one solution to the problem.
There were speakers from various community leaders including Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, Stephan Regan with the West End BIA, Anthony Kupferschmidt with the West End Seniors’ Network and representatives from Providence Health Care.
Members from the provincial Health Ministry were invited but were not at the event. More consultation with Providence Health Care and the community is expected.
