Provincial Hospital Cuts
SSMDLC.COM -- December 4, 2008

 
Toronto/cross Ontario – The Ontario Health Coalition released a
report detailing hospital cuts and restructuring plans now underway across
Ontario.

« We are seeing the deepest and most widespread hospital cuts in more
than a decade, » noted Natalie Mehra, coalition director. « The province has set
funding levels for hospitals that are less than the rate of inflation for this
fiscal year, dropping further next year. Hospitals cannot maintain existing
programs and services at current levels of funding. The cuts we are seeing are
disorganized, undemocratic and causing huge public backlash. »
 
« Most communities have spent the last 50 – 100 years to build their
local hospitals and make services locally accessible, » added Helen Havlik,
retired nursing director from the Petrolia hospital and a coalition member.
« The government is going in the opposite direction, moving services out of
local communities. For small and rural hospitals, once you move out the services
that are being proposed in some communities, you no longer have a hospital at
all.»
 
« The current government plan for hospital cuts and restructuring is
saddled with similar flaws to the last round of restructuring that went over
budget by billions of dollars while reducing services and compromising people’s
health, » Mehra warned.
 
Among the major
findings of the report:

• Province-wide at least 50% of hospitals (75
  hospitals) are, or have been in deficit this year and almost 70% (104 hospitals)
  are projected to be in deficit next year. Hospitals are forbidden to run
  deficits and must submit plans to eliminate them by the end of next fiscal
  year.


• Provincial funding for hospitals’ global
  budgets is less than the rate of inflation for this year and next. It has been
  set at 2.4% for 2008/09 and 2.1% for 2009/10.  At these rates,
  hospitals are unable to maintain existing programs and services. The government
  has provided a multi-step program to increase fees and cut services across the
  province.


• Cuts now proposed across Ontario include
  closures of Emergency Departments; closure of local birthing service; cuts to
  hospital beds and departments; essential closure of small and rural hospitals;
  privatization of physiotherapy, chiropody and support services; lay offs and
  attrition to reduce the size of the hospital workforce; increased fees for
  patients and their visitors, and other measures.


• Emergency Departments are being
  restructured, closed, or reviewed in Hamilton, Port Colborne, Fort Erie,
  Leamington, Wallaceburg and Petrolia.


• The funding squeeze is forcing hospitals to
  centralize core hospital services across large geographic regions, moving them
  out of local community hospitals.  Patients will have to travel
  from one hospital to another across their regions to access services. The
  provincial government has not made clear how far patients will be required to
  travel for hospital care.


• There are no clear plans and funding to
  offset increased municipal costs for ambulance, paramedic, fire and police
  services that will be required if the local Emergency Departments are closed or
  converted into clinics. Ambulance offload delays are a major problem in many
  larger hospitals already.  There are concerns that the larger
  hospitals cannot take the influx of patients that would result from the movement
  of services out of local hospitals.


• Planning for infrastructure is misaligned
  with service planning. In Ajax – Pickering, a brand new mental health suite of 9
  beds was just completed in time for all the mental health beds to be moved out
  of town to Scarborough. In Port Colborne, the government announced funding to
  expand and renovate the Emergency Department less than one year ago and now the
  Niagara Health System plans to close it down.


• Hospital deficits are worsened by staffing
  shortages and inadequate long term care (at home and in facilities) which are
  provincial government policy.


• Hospitals have reportedly been asked to
  sign « communication protocols » with the government-appointed LHINs, dictating
  what information can be released to the public and when.


• There has been major public outcry. Six
  thousand people have protested in Fort Erie and Port Colborne. Municipal
  Councils are passing motions for democratically-elected hospital boards,
  dissolution of amalgamated hospitals and provincial funding support to offset
  cuts. Editorials in community newspapers across the province have decried the
  lack of clear planning and cuts to services. Tens of thousands have signed
  petitions to save local hospital services.


• Ontario’s hospitals have already been
  restructured for more than 15 years. Current underfunding is forcing deep cuts
  to patient services.

  For more information: 416-441-2502.

SEARCH:

More News
Steelworkers Appreciation Day - Sept. 7, 2009
July 30, 2009

Martin Pushes For Infrastructure Dollars
May 28, 2009

Martin Pushes For Infrastructure Dollars
May 28, 2009

Mothers' Have Rights
May 8, 2009

50th Anniversary Photo Gallery - Part 1
March 19, 2009

50th Anniversary Photo Gallery - Part 2
March 19, 2009

March 21st - International Day for the Elimination of Racism
March 17, 2009

Provincial Hospital Cuts
December 4, 2008

NDP: Stephen Harper must be replaced
December 2, 2008

Farm Workers Gain Collective Bargaining Rights
November 19, 2008