Dear editor,
I fully support Mayor Bates in demanding a review of both of VIHA’s North Island hospital decisions, on the hospital being split between two locations and on the proposed Crown Isle site.
I find it very disturbing that VIHA has remained somewhat mute on their reasoning, save for it being in close proximity of NIC, as support for the proposed new hospital site location, and I sense a groundswell of anger is building within our valley that has the potential to divide communities.
Proactively, I have written letters to VIHA, our MLA and the local papers, some published and some not, outlining my disappointment in the site location and I have asked VIHA for a clear and full explanation as to how the decision was reached without success.
In response to my published letters I have had phone calls from physicians I have never met thanking me for speaking out because they also do not agree with the location from a patient care perspective and do not know how or why the Crown Isle site was chosen.
Without this decision being transparent, we are all left to speculate and it leads to some very disturbing conclusions — either the process was unduly influenced by factors not in the overall general public interest, which smacks of corruption and political favoritism, or VIHA is, as a group, inept and incompetent and has been swayed by small vocal groups of self-interested parties who are not
interested in the best solution for the entire community.
I do not like thinking any of these is a possibility but will need some form of responsible leadership from VIHA demonstrating that their decision was based on sound reasoning for the benefit of all to think otherwise.
Unless they have the ability to do this, my confidence in them is lost and a complete review of the process should be undertaken.
B. Funk,
Cumberland
