‘The false promise right here is that privatizing surgical procedures is an answer to lengthy waits,’ says union official
JOINT NEWS RELEASE
OCHU-CUPE
ONTARIO HEALTH COALITION
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Symbolizing the specter of the plan to denationalise hospital surgical procedures, a 15-foot reproduction of the Trojan Horse visited Barrie Metropolis Corridor on Wednesday afternoon.
The metaphor was deployed by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) and the Ontario Well being Coalition, who’re asking that the Ford authorities cancel plans to denationalise surgical procedures and as an alternative make investments in public hospitals.
A reference to Greek mythology, “the Trojan Horse represents a gift, which, if accepted, threatens the recipient,” stated Kevin Cook dinner, first vice-president of OCHU-CUPE. “The false promise right here is that privatizing surgical procedures is an answer to lengthy waits. In truth, privatization redirects cash and employees from public hospitals to personal, for-profit clinics.
“Because of this, wait instances within the public system get longer as employees shortages result in service closures. In the meantime, these personal clinics cost out-of-pocket prices, that are unaffordable for most individuals. In the end, they are going to cut back entry based mostly on want, lengthen wait instances and weaken our public hospital system.”
Cook dinner stated a current examine revealed within the Canadian Medical Affiliation Journal confirmed startling outcomes: Surgical charges for cataract surgical procedures went up by 22 per cent for the wealthiest individuals in Ontario whereas reducing by 9 per cent for the bottom revenue earners.
That is in keeping with the expertise in different nations which have experimented with personal supply of surgical procedures. The examine backs analysis by the Ontario Well being Coalition displaying that sufferers have been charged as much as $8,000 at personal clinics.
In accordance with the union and the well being coalition, “these charges are often manipulative and unethical, and in many cases are a flagrant violation of our public medicare laws.”
The Ford authorities has been increasing personal supply of companies predominantly provided in public hospitals together with cataract surgical procedures and diagnostic checks. This fall, the federal government will probably be issuing new licences to personal clinics and offering them funding to carry out 100,000 MRIs and CT scans.
“Private for-profit clinics and hospitals are up to two to three times more expensive than public hospitals. The Ford government is taking our public tax funding for health care away from our local hospitals to give it to more costly for-profit clinics,” stated Natalie Mehra, the manager director of the Ontario Well being Coalition. “Even worse, for-profit clinics threaten public medicare and cause hardship for patients, charging the elderly on pensions thousands of dollars unlawfully for needed surgeries and manipulating them to pay for unnecessary add-ons.”
The 2 organizations are as an alternative demanding that the federal government as an alternative make investments in public hospitals to enhance staffing and capability, which have already got the infrastructure to supply extra companies however are missing funding.
“Ontario now funds our public hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada, with the lowest staffing levels and bed capacity across the country,” stated Cook dinner. “But, the Ontario Conservatives are shifting greater than a billion {dollars} per yr away from our public hospitals to personal for-profit clinics, hospitals and staffing businesses.
“The answer is so as to add sufficient new hospital beds and employees over the subsequent 10 years to fulfill the wants of an getting older and rising inhabitants. The federal government should additionally shut the loopholes that exempt some occupations from paying the well being tax that may generate greater than sufficient income to offset these prices.”
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