The battle to save 31 specialized mental health beds in North Bay is heating up again.
OPSEU members are working with the Concerned Citizens Committee of North Bay and Area to distribute postcards calling for an investigation into the decision-making process involved in moving the 31 beds to Sudbury.
The postcard feature a mattress with the text “31 beds = 31 People, 64 Jobs, $12 million economic impact.
The beds were initially intended to be part of the transfer to the new North Bay hospital complex. However, despite the new hospital costing more than $1 billion over the life of the P3 (public-private partnership) contract, the new facility did not have room for the 31 beds.
The group is angry with the North East LHIN’s Regional Advisory Panel which held consultations despite evidence to suggest the decision had already been made years earlier.
The citizens group is meeting Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm in the Emmanuel United Church on Lakeshore Drive (across from the Metro) in North Bay.
The group has a meeting planned with NDP leader Andrea Horwath soon.
See previous post on this issue:
https://opseudiablogue.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=389&action=edit
OPSEU Diablogue 
We are now arranging a teleconference with the Ombudsman of Ontario for next week in North Bay! Onward and Upward!