SD&G – An aura of problems continue to persist around the Alexandria office of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
The latest problem surfaced Tuesday morning (Feb. 20) as a county councillor and the North Glengarry’s deputy mayor raised concerns about the logistics of EOHU employees getting their daily workload.
“I’m made aware that staff from the northern part of the (SD&G) border have to drive all the way to Cornwall to get their day’s work and drive all the way back to Alexandria as opposed to just driving two kilometers,” Coun. Jamie MacDonald said.
Cornwall is about a 40 minute drive from Alexandria.
MacDonald says he’s received complaints from “three or four members of staff” with the EOHU.
The North Glengarry council representative would like the health unit to look into the problem.
SD&G Warden Ian McLeod suggested MacDonald send his concerns to Coun. Gerry Boyce, the health unit representative on county council. Boyce wasn’t at today’s meeting.
This is the latest problem to dog the EOHU service in North Glengarry.
In November, North Glengarry Mayor Chris McDonell suggested the EOHU was “pulling out of Alexandria,” in a community that deals with a number of substance abuse and mental health problems.
In an interview with Cornwall Newswatch in November, Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, said that wasn’t a fair assessment and that staff were being located in two central offices with workers deployed to various areas of SD&G.
Roumeliotis said the changes, to reduce rental costs, were not affecting services.
The EOHU Alexandria office is at 60 Anik Street. (location corrected from earlier version citing location as Glengarry Memorial Hospital)