Brampton,Ontario, Dec. 09, 2007
Santokh Singh
After Harnek Sidhu's death, one more death of Amarjit Narwal,
42 was reported to Toronro Star by Narwal's cousin, Inderjit Nijjar.
Inderjit told reporters that Narwal, who had suffered a stroke,
was taken to emergency at Brampton Civic by ambulance from Trillium
Health Centre in Mississauga. Narwal was put on blood thinning
medication, but slipped into a coma and died less than 24 hours
after being admitted to Brampton Civic.
"He died because of the lack of doctors,'' said Nijjar,
who accompanied his cousin to the hospital. ``He wasn't looked
after at all. The doctor never saw his face, just ordered the
medication over the phone. Until we started screaming, nobody
came to see him. Then finally the doctor came, looked at him and
the chart and said, `Sorry, it's too late.'"
On Sunday, by gathering at Brampton City Hall, more than 5000
residents (mostly NRIs) , marched a one-kilometre route along
Queen St. E, in the freezing weather from the Rose Theatre to
the old Peel Memorial Hospital site. They staged a peaceful rally,
carrying signs that read:
More than 5000 residents (mostly NRIs) , marched a one-kilometre
route along Queen St. E, in the freezing weather from the Rose
Theatre to the old Peel Memorial Hospital site -Click for bigger
view
Photos by Jagdish Grewal [jagdish@punjabipost.ca]
- "We demand full capacity," "Reduce wait times,"
and "Treat us with a smile, we are patients."
- We are concerned the shortage of staff and beds, long wait
times, and lack of funding at the new facility.
- We wants Brampton Civic to operate at full capacity immediately,
including hiring additional doctors and nurses.
- One hospital can't serve the needs of a community of half
a million people.
Rajinder Saini, a rally organizer, editor of
Parvasi Weekly newspaper and host of Parvasi Radio said:
- People are outraged. They want answers. What happened to Mr.
Sidhu and Mr. Narwal can happen to anyone.
- The people have complained that hospital staff have been rude.
There are such long waiting times in the emergency. We have
seen attitude problems, shortage of staff, and less number of
beds
- We came here from India for the best health care in the world
and now we're scared to go to that hospital.
Ms. Colleen Beaumier, Brampton West, Liberal
Party MP, a longtime resident of Brampton showed up at the rally
to show support for her constituents. She said:
- These are my people who are being cheated on healthcare.
- I took my husband to emergency at the Brampton Civic Hospital
in November and saw 60 people in the waiting room with only
one doctor on call. I reiterate Saini’s statement that
the old Peel Memorial site should be re-opened.
The William Osler Health Centre posted a statement on their website
that outlines their timeframe for re-opening the old hospital.
The statement reads, “Services at Peel Memorial Hospital
are temporarily discontinued while the building is being decommissioned
and readied for redevelopment which is slated for the 2009/10
timeframe.”
Jagtar Shergill of NDP party,
Brampton West, who lost to Colleen Beaumier said, the South Asian
community, which helped to raise millions for the hospital, also
feels betrayed that the hospital was built as a public-private
partnership, after the Liberals campaigned against so-called P3
projects in the 2003 election
Dr. Naveed Mohammad, the hospital emergency
chief said, the average wait time is 212 minutes, slighter higher
than it was at Peel Memorial.
The Brampton Civic Hospital's Communication
director said that although the hospital was
built for 608 beds, they currently have 479 beds to start. “This
is what we are funded for,” she said. “These are more
beds than we had at Peel Memorial. And over the next four years,
we will be ramping up to 608 beds.”
