Hundreds of people showed up outside the Durham hospital on Tuesday evening to show their support for the facility they fear could soon be gone.
The South Bruce Grey Health Centre is taking 10 inpatient beds out next month, a move many residents see as the first step to losing the hospital entirely.
Jana Wight, co-chair of the Save the Durham Hospital committee, says there were three to four hundred people at the rally, voicing their displeasure with the decision.
"I definitely think there's an undercurrent of anger. People are frustrated," she said. "This isn't the first time we've done this and it feels like we're bumping into walls. We're looking for solutions, we're looking to collaborate and we're not making any gains in that way. People want to know what's going on. Why? How was this decided? Who decided? And no one can get that information."
Wight says they weren't satisfied with the response from the board at last week's webinar.
"It was a lot of the same, I would call canned answers that were already posted on the website," she said. "Because the questions were pre-chosen, there wasn't much diversity... I think people want to know, how was this decision reached? Knowing some of the work that's gone in when other really tough decisions have been made, nothing was shared with the community about what information informed this decision."
Wight said Tuesday's rally also included testimonials from members of the community who had positive experiences at the hospital, ways that won't be possible if the facility keeps scaling back service.
Those in attendance at included Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers, Liberal Health Critic Adil Shamji, Ontario Nurses Association Vice-President for Region 5 Alan Warrington, and West Grey Mayor Kevin Eccles.
While the event was successful in drawing a crowd and attention, Wight says they're not stopping.
"One of the things we're focusing on is a phone call campaign," she said. "Just to let people know that we remain concerned. This wasn't just, kick up a fuss and now we're done, we remain concerned, we're not okay with this and we're not going to stop."
Those that want to support the cause or just learn more can visit the Save the Durham Hospital website or find them on Facebook.