Ontario Health Coalition:
Health Coalition releases new
report: Damning evidence from Ontario's private for-profit clinics
October 1, 2007 "First, do no harm." That is the warning
issued by the Ontario Health Coalition in light of John Tory's campaign to
open the gates to U.S.-style for-profit hospitals and clinics.
The coalition released a report today, "First Do No Harm:
the Evidence from Ontario's Experience with For-Profit Diagnostic and
Hospital Clinics", containing evidence of higher costs, worsening staff
shortages and closures of local health services caused by for-profit clinics
of the exact model proposed by John Tory.
"Many physicians are deeply concerned about the negative
impact of these for-profit hospitals and clinics on our patients. For-profit
clinics skim healthier patients out of hospitals, leaving the public system
to care for more complex patients with less money. In addition, the linking
of insured to uninsured services in for-profit clinics presents barriers for
Ontarians who cannot - and should not - pay for essential health care
services," said Dr. Danielle Martin, chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare.
"For-profit ownership has nothing to do with wait times. To
reduce wait times we need to focus urgent attention on increasing the number
of nurses, doctors and health professionals and improving the organization
of care. An expansion of private for-profit clinics will worsen shortages
and prevent sound organization of care; it will shunt scarce resources over
to the private sector instead," said Doris Grinspun, Executive Director of
the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.
"In fact, the for-profit MRI-CT clinics introduced by the
Eves government poached radiation technologists, actually worsening staff
shortages in nearby public hospitals. Rather than increasing capacity, they
forced the public hospitals to cut back on their MRI hours while the private
clinics were laughing all the way to the bank," remarked Patty Rout, a
technologist and First Vice- president/Treasurer of the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union.
"Tory's proposal would open the floodgates to U.S.-style
for-profit privatization of all our hospital services, including the doctors
and nurses. While John Tory's proposal may benefit the for-profit health
lobby, it does not help patients," concluded Natalie Mehra, director of the
Ontario Health Coalition. "Most Ontarians believe it is wrong to make profit
from a cancer patient. This study shows that for-profit hospitals are not
only an affront to our values, but are also a danger to our public health
system."
Key Findings:
1. For-profit ownership has no relation to wait times. In
fact, recent cuts to for-profit labs across the province have resulted in
long line-ups for blood tests. The Harris/Eves for-profit MRI- CT clinics
reduced capacity in the public hospital system.
2. There are not enough health professionals to sustain a
private tier of for-profit clinics. The for-profit MRI/CT clinics have
worsened staff shortages in local hospitals leading to cuts in the
non-profit hospitals. Since they are not set up for emergencies or complex
patients, they take the lighter cases and leave behind the heavy care with
less staff.
3. The for-profits favour urban centres where there is a
bigger "market" from which they can make money. Diagnosticare x-ray clinics
were closed down in small towns across Ontario leaving patients to travel
further for services because the company found 15% profit rates not high
enough.
4. The for-profit clinics lack accountability. They are rife
with secret contracts, even though taxpayers are funding them. The
provincial auditor found the for-profit cancer treatment centre at
Sunnybrook cost more than public cancer centres with taxpayers footing the
bill. After receiving millions in provincial and municipal grants funded by
taxpayers, Diagnosticare shut down local services to the detriment of
patients.
The full report is available at
www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca
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For further information: Ontario Health Coalition, (416)
230-6402; Patty Rout (416) 443-8888 ext. 8383; Dr. Danielle Martin, (416)
779-8841 (available 1 - 5 pm only); Registered Nurses' Association of
Ontario, (416) 599-1925
