The Erie-St. Clair LHIN wants an independent expert panel to help advise it on the proposal to close the obstetrics ward at Leamington District Memorial Hospital.

“This is a highly complex, very difficult issue to address and we need to address it from all the aspects that we’re hearing and that we know about,” says Martin Girash, chair of the LHIN board.

The special meeting on the proposed OB closure packed the hall at the Roma Club in Leamington on Wednesday night with concerned area residents.

“Look at those chairs and how full they are in here, this is sending a social message to the LHIN and hopefully to the province, ‘you don’t mess with our healthcare down here,'” says John Paterson, Leamington’s mayor. “We are trying to attract a younger population to fill jobs that we hope will come, so the last thing you want to see is our hospital closing the OB because then you’re cutting off the people you want to attract.”

The obstetrics program at Leamington District Memorial Hospital is set for closure as of March 31, 2015. The Erie-St. Clair LHIN is set to have another special meeting on the matter on November 27.