Dear Editor:
To engage in a conversation with anyone would require two parties who are willing to actually exchange information. What was touted as a “Community Engagement Meeting” between the South Bruce Grey Health Centre board and the citizens of West Grey-Durham fell far short of its advertised purpose.
On Aug. 26, at the invitation of SBGHC, hundreds of area residents attended to have their concerns heard and their questions answered. Instead, much of the time slotted for this “engagement” was taken up by meaningless presentations by both (board chair) Mr. (Dean) Dunn and (SBGHC CEO) Ms. (Nancy) Shaw. These presentations were simply the excuses currently on offer for the serious lack of commitment to the community and its health-care needs. They were a repetition of what we have already heard.
In the short time allotted to questions from the community, most went unanswered. In the expected show of political double-talk, the board representatives failed to “engage” in any way with questioners. There were very few answers given and even fewer instances of understanding shown or regard for those who had prepared comments. A great number of citizens were not allowed to speak, due to the imposed timeline given by the board.
In spite of this full-on lack of respect shown by the board, the community was urged to complete a highly flawed survey produced by them. The board’s stated purpose was to gather together the issues most important to the citizens of Durham. The construction of the survey was so skewed that it was not possible for the community to give voice to their real concerns. And yet, we were asked to believe that the answers we gave would be addressed in the next-steps plans coming out from the board.
The total disrespect for the citizens of West Grey that was displayed by the board that evening and throughout this whole process is appalling. It is no wonder that our residents left this “engagement” meeting with an even greater resolve to work to keep our hospital and local health care viable!
Harriet Mitchell
Durham
