The Government Response
Initially, when complaints about Christie Street Hospital were brought to the government, they were ignored. The government attempted to save face by touring Christie Street and declaring it adequate, however, the public did not accept their word. Eventually, they were forced to change the veteran's healthcare system, including Christie Street Hospital (11). This change, however, was slow and inefficient, resulting in the Women’s Emergency Committee once again creating awareness of Christie Street to push the government to work faster on Sunnybrook’s development. This page is a mix of the government's response to the initial uproar regarding Christie Street and then the response to later complaints regarding the slow construction of Sunnybrook.
Amply Adequate
This is a headline of an article that was featured in the Globe and Mail. The article highlights a statement released by the Department of Pensions and Health in response to public uproar regarding Christie Street Hospital. The statement from the department expressed that there are several thousand vacant beds available for veterans. This was directly in response to the allegations of crowding in Christie Street Hospital. Minister Ian McKenzie continued by using the words “Amply Adequate” to describe preparation for hospital accommodations. These words were met with controversy and many newspapers wrote criticizing reviews of this statement alongside images of Christie Street Hospital to suggest a falsehood in Ian McKenzie's words.
A Citizens Campaign
This is a news clipping that Judith Robinson saved from the Globe and Mail. The article was written after the government agreed to build Sunnybrook Hospital and criticizes the painfully slow progress of the new building. The paper's author argues that Sunnybrook's development reflects Minister Ian McKenzie’s overall attitude towards Christie Street. Complacent. Furthermore, the article insinuates that the government does not care for veterans since if they did, they would not have chosen to extend Christie Street initially. Instead, they would have recognized that it lacked the required equipment and environment for proper healing. Only the public’s response caused them to act, and since they did not care, they did not prioritize Sunnybrook’s construction. This slow progress meants that the veterans were still subject to the poor care and medical malpractice of Christie Street Hospital.
This Space October 9, 1943
While another part of this column was featured earlier in this exhibit under malpractice cases, the section featured here describes Minister Ian McKenzie’s responses to medical malpractice stories. Judith Robinson uses her writing to mock Minister McKenzie and what she considers the unnecessary delay of a decision with an obvious answer. She explains how the government has been offered an enormous amount of resources to ensure the construction of Sunnybrook; however, despite these donations, they are still hesitant to build it. She also uses her writing to demonstrate the weight of the soldiers' sacrifice and how the government should be willing to give the best for them, considering their sacrifice. However, the government is trying to stop developing better health services for these people.