Politicians and hospital task force members from Fort Erie, Niagara Falls and Port Colborne discussed the need to work together during a conference call with Niagara This Week Wednesday. The call came one day after Dr. Jack Kitts endorsed most of the Niagara Health System's restructuring plan.

Dr. Kitts, a health care expert sought by the Local Health Integration Network to make recommendations on a 311-page plan aimed at consolidating hospital services to improve quality of care, approved the consolidation methods contained in the plan, but disagreed with removing 24-hour care from hospitals in Fort Erie and Port Colborne.

Rather than close 24-hour emergency departments, Dr. Kitts recommended they be replaced with 24-hour urgent care centres. The NHS plan called for the closure of both departments to be replaced with 14-hour prompt care during a five-year transition period.

Under the NHS plan, the two units would be closed by 2013.

The Ottawa Hospital CEO also commented on a clear lack of trust Niagarans have with the hospital system, but did not address how to fix it, said Natalie Mehra, director of the Ontario Health Coalition.

Instead, Kitts said Niagarans should fix that by "rallying behind the vision."

"This was not addressed by Dr. Kitts," said former Fort Erie mayor Wayne Redekop, who co-chairs the Fort Erie committee aimed at saving hospital services. "The fact is trust and respect for the NHS is lost, and they are not going to regain that trust."

Dr. Kitts' recommendations will be reviewed by the NHS and a new report will be submitted to the LHIN. Following Tuesday's meeting, NHS CEO Debbie Sevenpifer said the recommendations "seemed reasonable" and will be considered at its next board meeting.

"We can't leave the decision to develop a 24-hour urgent care centre in the hands of the NHS," Redekop said. "Will they consider that, or will they go back to their old number and say 24-hours is not justified and slash it back?"

Niagara Falls Coun. Carolynn Iannoni said the NHS administration is not accountable. If a municipal council filed a deficit for eight years in a row, none of the councillors would be re-elected, she said.

"So why is the NHS allowed to get away with this?" she asked. "Who are they accountable to?"

Iannoni suggested municipalities, which have been working independently to save their own hospitals, should unite and present a strong voice to Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister David Caplan.

"We've been going at our own issues independently," she said. "Fort Erie and Port Colborne have been fighting to save their emergency rooms, in Niagara Falls we've been fighting to save our maternity wards. We all need to come together and fight as one."

Iannoni plans to bring forward a motion to have the NHS administration reviewed by the province. She said every municipality in Niagara needs to support the motion.

Port Colborne council passed two motions in September regarding the contentious hospital improvement plan, but Wainfleet council was the only Niagara municipality to endorse it.

Redekop said a Fort Erie motion in support of Welland MPP Peter Kormos' bill calling for publicly elected hospital boards was endorsed by about 50 municipalities.

Iannoni said this motion would be supported, adding that the message has been loud and clear during the past few months.

Port Colborne Regional Coun. Bob Saracino said the province needs to be made aware of what is going on in Niagara.

"We have to alert them in Toronto to what is going on here," he said. "If it's not in the Toronto media they don't have a clue about what's going on. We need to make them aware."

Redekop said Niagara Falls and Welland residents shouldn't be too content with the recommendations. While both hospitals will maintain 24-hour emergency rooms, they are losing "the first of many services," he said.

"We can't take the bat and ball and go home," said Iannoni. "We can't afford to do that."