Whenever you have an interest in moving to a community, you do want to know
what kind of health care services are available. After all, you never know when
you might require polyester slings or other health related services for you
and your family.
Most urban centres in Canada offer, at the very least, full service hospitals
for citizens of the community. Certainly, one could expect a city with over
100,000 people to have a fully equipped hospital. However, in this regard, Whitby
certainly got the short end of the stick. While the community used to have a
general hospital, the operation was downgraded in 1998 when the health boards
of the Durham region were amalgamated. One can only imagine that the move came
about because the new bureaucracy decided the budgets would improve due to the
suction. Diffusers of health responsibility have rarely been correct in such
measure before, however, and today (not surprisingly) there is pressure to turn
the building back into a full service hospital.
For now, Lakeridge Health Whitby continues to be a specialized centre. It offers
rehabilitation services to patients who have suffered strokes and other types
of brain injuries. There are also geriatric care services, palliative services,
and dementia care offered at the facility. For all other services, including
emergencies from improper handling of aquarium test kits and the like, Whitby
residents have two options. They can travel to nearby Ajax (about 7 kilometres
away) or Lakeridge Health Oshawa (again, about 7 kilometres).
Despite a lack of full service hospital space, Whitby does offer some other
options in terms of specialized services. The Whitby Mental Health Centre serves
a large area. In fact, a Toronto realtor could probably tell you that the catchment
area for the WMHC includes a large portion of the Big City itself.
Aside from emergency aid, Canadians all over the country are also curious about
what a city has to offer in terms of family care. In Whitby, there are more
than 70 doctors currently practicing. Like many cities across the country, few
doctors in Whitby are taking patients at the moment; at last count, there were
only five.
While there is no hospital in Whitby itself for emergencies, the Durham ambulance
service can get patients from Whitby to one of the other major hospitals in
the area quite quickly. The service can be contacted by dialing 911 in emergencies,
and is located on Andersen Street.
For seniors, Whitby currently offers several long term care options aside from
the former hospital. There are two nursing homes in the community, along with
eight businesses currently providing senior housing options.
Finally, Whitby does offer a range of stores and products for any need. There
are businesses catering to those who are interested in purchasing natural
baby products, counseling services, dental issues, and so on.
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