A group of concerned citizens is raising awareness about the problems surrounding health care privatization and hospital service cuts.
On Wednesday, the London Health Coalition set up a giant alarm clock at the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame on Dundas St. in London
Peter Bergmanis, co-chair of the London Health Coalition, says the clock is an alarm to let Londoners know that the "healthcare system is in dire straits."
He says any more cuts to hospitals will be "dramatic and dangerous."
"We believe that most of the city of London does not know that their cherished hospitals, which generations of Londoners have built, are under such grave strain from lack of funding and lack of resources," he says. "Right now, we're at that tipping point."
The coalition claims more than 200 nursing positions in hospitals across the region have been cut since 2012. The group also claims, 97 full-time nursing, health professional and hospital support staff positions have been cut at London Health Sciences Centre.
"What we've discovered is that we're losing nursing hours. We've lost operating room time," says Bergmanis. "We're certainly ill-prepared for any surges of patients who may come from the outer areas of the city, because (the hospitals) don't have the resources."
The health coalition will be holding a day of action on June 26 outside the office of London North Centre MPP Deb Matthews, where the group intends to rally against hospital cuts and home care privatization.
