OPSEU launches “Avoiding Zero” campaign for hospitals
Don’t freeze hospital funding -- Thomas
December 4, 2009 President Warren
(Smokey) Thomas writes to Health Minister Deborah
Matthews urging her not to freeze funding for Ontario’s
hospitals in 2010/11.
more...
Stand up for our public hospitals
November 30, 2009 A new on-line
site --
www.avoidingzero.ca -- quickly links the public to
their MPPs over a plan to freeze funding to hospitals.
more...
November 4, 2009
OPSEU is launching a campaign to urge the
McGuinty government not to freeze hospital funding next
year.
“H1N1 is now demonstrating the lack of surge
capacity in our hospitals,” says OPSEU President Warren
(Smokey) Thomas. “With 38 per cent of hospitals already
struggling under the weight of operational deficits, a
funding freeze would be a disaster for our health system.”
Hospitals were told late this summer to base
their planning for next year based on this year’s funding
levels. Some LHINs have asked hospitals to plan for up to
two years without an increase in their funding. With costs
running at about 3.5 per cent per year, a funding freeze
would represent a serious cut.
OPSEU hospital locals have been recently
sent postcards for their members to fill out. The postcards
can be addressed to their local MPP, the health minister,
the Premier and/or to the opposition health critics. The
front of these postcards is blank, requiring the member to
print one word to describe how they feel about hospital
underfunding. After the postcards are completed, they should
be returned to head office where they will be counted and
mailed.
The public is also invited to participate in
an on-line campaign that will be linked to news sites
operated by the Toronto Star, the CBC, and senior’s advocacy
group CARP. This campaign is expected to go live by
mid-November.
“We cannot continue to cut our hospitals
without putting our healthcare at risk,” says Thomas. “This
year’s underfunding is already leading to closed ERs, cuts
to outpatient physiotherapy and labs, and even closure of
community-based facilities, such as the Burk’s Falls Urgent
Care Centre.”
OPSEU locals wishing to participate in the
campaign, but are not hospital-based, are welcome to get
involved. Please contact Rick Janson at 416-443-8888 ext
8383 if you would like postcards or more information.
