(Queen’s Park) – Today, Cambridge residents are joining hundreds of Ontarians at Queen’s Park to protest government health policies which are leading to the elimination of hospitals and hospital services in their community. The protestors are urging the McGuinty government to keep his promise to improve access to health care and protect their hospitals and patient services.
This afternoon, MPPs will debate an Opposition Day Motion introduced by the Progressive Conservative Party. The motion calls on the McGuinty government to develop a plan to address growing hospital deficits, protect patients’ services and prevent nurses from being fired.
“The McGuinty government has yet to reveal a strategy to protect patients’ services, growing hospital deficits, a growing aging population, a shortage of health professionals and overcrowded emergency departments; even though they have had six years in government to do so. As a result the Premier’s policies are taking nurses and crucial hospital services away from the sickest of the sick.” said Elizabeth Witmer, Progressive Conservative Health Critic. “The Premier is endorsing the erosion of these services by refusing to take action. Access to patient care will continue to be reduced as hospitals across the province are forced to cut even more beds and nursing positions.”
Today, during Question Period, the Minister of Health shrugged off the growing concerns of the protestors. “These protestors, including patients, taxpayers, municipal leaders and health care professionals deserve to be heard,” said Witmer.
Will Liberal MPPs listen and stand up for their constituents who have gathered here today?
Will Liberal MPPs support the Progressive Conservative motion calling on the McGuinty government to acknowledge the needs of Ontario’s growing communities and our aging population and develop a plan to address growing hospital volumes, protect patients’ services, prevent nurses from being fired and address growing hospital deficits?
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For further information contact:
Elizabeth Witmer, MPP
(416) 325-1306
Backgrounder
On April 7th 2008, Dalton McGuinty said his government would “not cut public services.” Yet hospitals across the province are being directed to fire nurses, eliminate medical beds and cut patients’ services. Here are a few examples…
· Cambridge Memorial Hospital will eliminate 30 jobs and reduce access to surgery and diagnostic tests.
· Kingston General Hospital will cut 157 full-time positions and eliminate 20 beds.
· Quinte Health Care will eliminate 45 registered nursing positions.
· Cornwall Community Hospital has closed critical-care units and one of two emergency rooms.
· The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) will close six beds and eliminate 13 nursing supervisor positions along with paramedical and nursing jobs.
· Hamilton Health Sciences will cut 485 jobs; a number of these jobs are expected to be nursing positions.
· Rouge Valley Health System will cut up to 220 jobs and close 36 beds.
Ontario’s population is aging. Ontario’s hospitals are running at 100% occupancy. Hospitals are not being funded based on the volume of work they do, nor the size of the communities they service. Current increases in provincial funding of 2.1% this year are not enough to meet rising costs of 3.5 to 4 % due to increasing volumes of work and costs such as salaries for doctors and nurses, heat and hydro.
The Progressive Conservative Party’s Opposition Day Motion reads…
WHEREAS the McGuinty government has no plan to address hospital deficits and protect patients’ services.
WHEREAS the health policies of the McGuinty government are responsible for the elimination of out-patient services, bed closures, the layoff of hospital staff such as nurses and the potential loss of hospital services and emergency rooms in communities such as Ottawa, Cornwall, Belleville, Kingston, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, Burlington, Fort Erie, Welland, Port Colborne, St. Catherines, Simcoe, Alliston, Strathroy, Petrolia, Wallaceburg, Chatham, Sudbury, Burk’s Falls, Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa and Toronto.
WHEREAS these decisions are being made unilaterally by Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) without full consultation and consideration of the concerns of the residents in these affected communities.
THAT the Legislative Assembly calls on the McGuinty government to acknowledge the needs of Ontario’s growing communities and our aging population and develop a plan to address growing hospital volumes, protect patients’ services, prevent nurses from being fired and address growing hospital deficits.
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