Durham Area is getting a brand new hospital, which will probably be constructed over the subsequent decade, however the mayor of Pickering is questioning the choice to construct it in Whitby.
Lakeridge Well being, a hospital and health-care community that serves the area east of Toronto, introduced Thursday the brand new facility will probably be constructed on 50 acres in north Whitby, close to highways 407 and 412.
That is nice information for all Durham residents, Whitby Coun. Steve Yamada advised Ontario Chronicle.
“The positioning is situated within the coronary heart of the area,” he stated. “It is a hospital that is going to have the ability to serve the rising inhabitants right here in our neighborhood.”
However Dave Ryan, the mayor of Pickering, says he is disenchanted his neighborhood’s bid for the hospital was handed over.
“Pickering could have the biggest inhabitants in Durham Area and is the one metropolis within the area to not have a serious health-care facility,” Dave Ryan tweeted on Wednesday.
Lakeridge Well being accepted an impartial panel’s suggestion to construct the hospital in Whitby. The positioning was chosen as a central location that may serve residents all throughout Durham area, in response to a information launch from the hospital community.
The discharge outlined the subsequent steps within the course of, which embody assembly with the City of Whitby, consulting with neighborhood stakeholders and opening up discussions with Ontario’s Ministry of Well being to start the approval course of for the brand new hospital.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan has expressed disappointment that his metropolis’s bid to construct the brand new hospital was rejected. (CBC)
However Ryan advised Ontario Chronicle the profitable bid might price taxpayers greater than the proposal from Pickering, which is situated about 18 kilometres southwest of Whitby.
Had Pickering been chosen, the land for the hospital would have been donated by one of many metropolis’s growth companions, saving taxpayers thousands and thousands of {dollars}, Ryan stated.
He stated the Whitby web site, which is at present owned by the province, might fetch as much as $40 million on the open market and he has requested for the bids to be made public.
“I feel the general public has a proper to understand how the choice was made [so] they’ll attain their very own conclusions,” he stated.
In an emailed assertion, a spokesperson for Lakeridge Well being stated the choice was made by a panel of extremely revered and acknowledged specialists who’re impartial of the hospital community and its board of trustees.
“The choice was made primarily based on standards that have been topic to widespread session — together with with every municipality and regional authorities, in addition to with emergency care, site visitors, environmental, and developmental specialists, First Nations, and hundreds of Durham residents,” the assertion reads.
Yamada, the Whitby city councillor, thanked Lakeridge Well being and it is professional panel, acknowledging {that a} equity adviser oversaw the evaluate course of to make sure that an equitable choice was made.
“This strong course of ensures equity in figuring out the most effective web site on behalf of all residents … It was truthful. It was clear,” Yamada advised Ontario Chronicle.
“It is a win for Durham Area residents”
