Paramedics prepare to transfer COVID-19 patient John Wiley, 76, from Brampton Civic Hospital to Halton Health Care on May 25. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones wouldn’t rule out privatization of health services as an option to address hospital staffing shortages that have shuttered emergency rooms in recent weeks.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday about plans to deal with staff shortages and whether privatization was a possibility, Ms Jones said “all options are on the table”.
“We have always had a public health system in the province of Ontario and we will continue to have one. Are we looking at options? Absolutely. There are jurisdictions in other parts of Canada and around the world that have other options that we will look at and all of those proposals are being considered,” she said.
Over the weekend, six hospitals had to close their emergency departments due to staff shortages, according to Ontario Health. Ms Jones said on Monday that suggestions that the health system was in crisis were “completely misplaced”. The Ontario Nurses Association said members notified them of 35 hospitals affected by service disruptions, including emergency department closures, following the August long weekend.
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Ms Jones did not give any details about what was being investigated, but the government promised “bold action” on health in Tuesday’s throne speech. Last week, Ms. Jones issued directives to the two colleges that regulate the province’s doctors and nurses, giving them two weeks to submit a plan to speed up the accreditation of internationally trained nurses.
A number of top unions and health organizations in the province rejected the minister’s comments, arguing that the government was putting the integrity of the health system at risk by supporting the idea of privatisation.
“This is in the complete opposite direction of where the government should be going,” said Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), which was part of a group of major unions that launched the joint , a five-point plan last week to help the government solve the hospital crisis.
“They’re going to take us off a cliff here.”
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) CEO Dr. Doris Grinspoon called the privatization proposal a “dangerous proposition” and said the Ford government’s refusal to try any of the solutions proposed by the health care community appeared to that they are being purposefully ignored in order to create a justification for privatization.
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“The minister is throwing this idea around while the system is collapsing because there are not enough resources. The question is whether they are creating a crisis to offer privatization as a solution, and if that is the case, it is reckless,” Dr Grinspoon said.
Charlene Stewart, president of the Health Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said Prime Minister Doug Ford had a “responsibility” to spell out what privatization options his government might consider.
“Frankly, it is unfathomable that Premier Ford would open the door to further privatization of our health care system after the people of Ontario have been exposed to the serious failures of the for-profit nursing home industry,” Ms. Stewart said.
The government was criticized by opposition members over its handling of the hospital situation during the first question period of the new parliament on Wednesday, with Ontario NDP health critic Frans Gelinas later saying in a statement that the idea of privatization would be “a disaster for people’ health.”
“This would mean the loss of nurses, doctors and PSWs leaving the public system to work privately, making the health crisis even worse. This could mean people are forced to pay out of pocket or wait longer for care,” Ms Gélinas said.
Responding to pressure during question period, Mr Ford said the government would “pour money” into health care on top of previous investment to hire more than 10,500 health workers since the pandemic began. But the provincial budget revised Tuesday does not provide any additional funding for health care beyond a long-term plan to spend $40 billion to build and expand hospitals over the next 10 years.
“I agree we need more nurses,” he said. “If there were 5,000 nurses that could fly from the sky, we’d be hiring them tomorrow.”
“Let’s be clear, there is no broken system in the province of Ontario. We have a very strong health care system,” Ms. Jones told reporters. “I would say what we have in Ontario is what we’re seeing internationally, and that’s a shortage of health workers.”
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