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Midwestern

Chesley RCU Closure Upsets Local MPPs

Two local Conservative MPPs are unhappy that the Liberal government is pulling the plug on the restorative care unit at Chesley hospital in less than two months.

Bill Walker and Lisa Thompson want the health minister to ensure funding for this frontline service stays in the community.

Monday, the duo again rose in question period in a last-minute effort to push Minister Eric Hoskins to keep the restorative and rehabilitation care available to patients in the region, a program that costs $800,000 a year.

Constituents found out last fall they were losing the funding for the RCU.

After raising the issue at Queen’s Park, MPPs Walker and Thompson lobbied actively to keep this critical service going.

The RCU has provided care to 300 patients, mostly senior citizens. "We've had months of uncertainty and remain unsatisfied with the government’s decision to forgo this critical service," Thompson said. "Our priority continues to be that access to frontline services is not interrupted. It's regrettable that this government doesn't see eye-to-eye with us when it comes to health care services."

"This government can find billions of dollars for boondoggles, but they can't find money to fund health care in our ridings. To us, this is unacceptable," said Walker.

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