Reading the latest article on the new health care centre, aside from not having any doctors or overnight beds, I was shocked at some of the services they are offering, in particular delivering babies.
As a new mother, especially for a first child, I would not be comfortable with less than a proper hospital to contend with any possible medical problems. I expect in a few years we’ll be squatting in the field like a third world country, where the infant mortality rate is much higher.
It seems to me the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction and doesn’t bode well. Something like the closure of most mental health institutions contributing greatly to the sad facts of homelessness, drug addiction and crime.
One other issue that irks is the powers that be continually suggesting we don’t deserve a hospital because we are too close to Nanaimo. When you have done this drive in the middle of a dark night, in the pouring rain with a critically ill patient in the car, you will understand how terrifying that 20-30 miles is, depending where you are coming from.
The residents of Oceanside deserve better, better being a small hospital. We also deserve the dignity of a voice and a choice in the spending of our tax dollars.
Norma Hesby
Qualicum Beach
