Brief to the Board of Directors, The Wellesley Hospital.

Year Published:  1977
Pages:  11pp   Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX407

This brief was prepared for the board of directors of Wellesley Hospital by a group of concerned people who are upset at many of the present practices in the emergency ward of this hospital. The group is made up of residents, health professionals, and community workers in the Don District.

Abstract: 
This brief was prepared for the board of directors of Wellesley Hospital by a group of concerned people who are upset at many of the present practices in the emergency ward of this hospital. The group is made up of residents, health professionals, and community workers in the Don District. The brief and the attached appendix outline clearly the incidents which prompted the formation of this group and suggestions for action. Of utmost concern is Wellesley's lack of response in understanding the nature of the community of which they are a part, and which they serve. This community has the lowest household incomes in all of Metropolitan Toronto. To effectively serve here, it is necessary to know the effects of inadequate housing and high emotional depression. They are not suggesting that "Wellesley become a jack-of-all-trades social agency"; rather, that Wellesley can adequately fulfil its obligation to the surrounding community only when it implements a hospital-wide policy of staff education and innovation in devising effective means of treating the poorest and weakest residents of its catchment area". The brief outlines conditions (problems) as they now stand in the emergency department and with in-patient care. The group lists the conclusions of their study and makes recommendations for many areas of the hospitals services. These areas are: in-patients, the Emergency Department, the Staff, communications, and development of a more humane environment. The group also makes recommendations about the administration of the hospital in order to be more closely in touch with the needs and concerns of the community it is set up to serve. Copies of this brief may be obtained by writing Janet Howard, Alderwoman in Ward 7, care of New City Hall, Toronto.