In defense of rural hospitals

When health reporter André Picard was on our show recently, he made the comment that Canadians have an emotional attachment to rural hospitals that doesn't reflect the "terrible" care given to patients.

We heard a lot of strong reaction to the comment, and decided to reach out to one rural nurse who wrote to us, for her response. Jane Radey says care in a community hospital has a personal element, delivered by professionals with qualifications equal to any in larger centres.

We also heard from Kira Leeb, Director of Health System Performance for the Canadian Institute of Health Information. She says their information points to comparable outcomes in many key areas between rural and urban hospitals.

She also notes that most of those surveyed in Saskatchewan after the closure of some rural hospitals reported no negative health impacts.