Central Ontario residents ask minister to impose moratorium in Minden ER closure

Residents in and around the central Ontario community of Minden are calling on the health minister to step in and impose a one-year moratorium on the planned closure of an emergency department.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services announced recently that the ER at its Minden location would close as of June 1 and all emergency services would be transferred to its Haliburton site, about 25 kilometres away.

The hospital says a shortage of nursing and medical staff is behind its decision.

A group of residents visited the legislature Wednesdaywith more than 17,000 signatures that they say they have gathered on a petition calling for a moratorium.

Norman Bess, a seasonal resident of Minden, says he doesn't believe he would be alive today if it weren't for the urgent care he received at the local ER when he had a heart attack in September 2017.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the closure is a local decision made by local hospital leadership.