Mantha’s News from the Park : Healthcare & Gov’t Accountability
Algoma-Manitoulin NDP MPP Michael Mantha
In Northern Ontario we know all too well the challenges we face with access to healthcare. Many have to travel long distances for care, and at a time when there seems to be continuous cuts to services, and wasted millions it becomes extremely frustrating.
This week my colleague and NDP Health Critic France Gelinas’ Bill to expand accountability in the province’s healthcare services unanimously passed Second Reading in the legislature.
Under the liberal watch the scandals continue to mount. We’ve seen millions wasted in eHealth, ORNGE Air Ambulance and the diluted chemo drugs. Yet wait times in emergency rooms continue to grow, nurses are being laid off, and doctor shortages are a constant problem. People want to see more accountability in our healthcare services. With this Bill, Ontarians can be assured of public accountability in their vital healthcare services in hospitals and those services that have been moved out into the community. It will ensure that scandals in our healthcare system are prevented from happening.
Bill 78, Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, will put into law the recommendations from the two committees that investigated ORNGE and the diluted chemo drugs scandal. It expands the mandate of the Ombudsman and the Auditor General to any health organization that receives over $1 million from the provincial government in a year. The Bill would also extend the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, to all health-sector entities receiving over $1 million in public funding annually. It will apply to the LHINs, CCACs, boards of health, ORNGE, independent health facilities, long-term care homes, out-of-hospital premises, and professional corporations that Bill OHIP.
Last night a follow up meeting was held in Sault Ste. Marie regarding the planned cuts to the Sault Hospital. This hospital services many in our region. The Sault Area Hospital is facing very serious cuts. The cuts that have been made public so far include:
- 20 acute care beds to be closed.
- Total of 56 beds to be closed even though the hospital is full to over-capacity on a regular basis.
- More than 59,000 nursing and direct patient care hours per year to be cut from departments across the hospital, including the operating room, the intensive care unit, oncology, surgical, hemodialysis, infection control as well as patient care coordinators, personal support workers and others.
Right now, hospitals are laying off nurses almost every single day. Last week alone, we learned that Sudbury will lose 42 nurses, Seventy-five positions are being eliminated in North Bay hospital and nearly 40 positions will be lost in Timmins.
These cuts in direct patient care and nursing hours can only reduce levels of patient care and increase the risk of accidents or mistakes at our hospital. Not only will this have a negative impact on Sault Ste. Marie but also on the entire Algoma region that rely on these services. I along with my colleagues will continue to fight these cuts and stand up for healthcare in the north and accountability across the province.
As always, please feel free to contact my office about this issue or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710/1-800-831-1899.
MPP Michael Mantha, Algoma-Manitoulin
