Around 200 residents took part in a rally Sunday against changes planned for the South Delta Public Health Unit.
The morning event outside the centre in Ladner's civic precinct saw many parents bring their young children for a large group photo. They saw it as an opportunity to send a message to the Fraser Health Authority, which plans to amalgamate staff at the facility with the health unit in North Delta. The South Delta unit is to be maintained as a "satellite" location.
Organizer Niamh Plaxton, who has utilized the services provided by the health unit, told the Optimist the centre is a vital part of the community, including playing a huge role in preventative health. If there's a reduction, the impacts won't be seen immediately, but they will put stress on other areas of community and health services, she said.
Plaxton said they want transparency and answers from the health region, saying it's not clear what the impact will be, although it appears fewer important services will be available as a satellite unit, forcing people to travel to North Delta.
"We're anxious and we don't know what is going to happen to our community. We've reached out to Fraser Health to try and understand more. We have questions and we are not finding our answers too easily."
Plaxton said as far as she could find out, only two public health nurses will be assigned to South Delta.
"So if we've only had a minimum of three to five depending on what time of the day, moving to two, who are remotely situated, there's clearly going to be an impact on our services here, and especially on those many intangibles," she said.
South Deltans may find themselves commuting an extra hour by car to access services in North Delta, she said, a journey that would take even longer for those relying on public transit.
The South Delta Public Health Unit is one of 18 operated by the health region, offering a variety of services ranging from breastfeeding and HIV/
AIDS/hepatitis support to chronic disease prevention, tuberculosis testing and more.
The health region issued a statement late last month that, in part, stated, "The South Delta Public Health Unit will remain open as a satellite site. The new staffing model will allow staff to travel to the South Delta
Public Health Unit to provide services to clients. Our intent is for there to be little to no impact for clients as they can continue to access services through the South Delta Public Health Unit."
According to the B.C. Nurses Union, there will be six part-time nurses laid off, but the health region is adding one additional full-time nurse.
"We're also concerned about a degradation of services by Fraser Health in South Delta overall," said Plaxton. "It's less blatant things, gradual degradation. So, for example, speech pathologists here. The last remaining full-time speech pathologist left.
"We understand that by cuts or natural attrition, they're letting these services slide. We're also hearing rumours about potential cutbacks at Delta Hospital as well. So we're calling on Fraser Health to let us know what is happening to heath in our community."
The change is scheduled to take effect in January 2014.
