February 19, 2007
To the editor:
Muskoka-area residents
have a right to be concerned about the future of their hospital. Under
financial pressure from the province, the hospital has drafted a plan to
gut laboratory services as part of its initiative to balance its budget.
The likely impact is
now well-known: longer waits for results, more lost or damaged
specimens, cumbersome access for doctors, and more patient retesting.
The cuts may save the hospital money, but cost taxpayers more.
The hospital claims to
be on the side of residents, but chooses to reprimand lab workers who
are fighting for their community and their jobs. The hospital board has
ignored the pleas of doctors who see their practice harmed by the
decision. It has yet to openly consult the community, instead relying on
staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital to make recommendations to bring
Muskoka’s lab services back to where they work in Barrie.
The hospital says these
changes take into consideration the Local Health Integration Network’s
lab plan. When the Ontario Public Service Employees Union asked the
North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN for a copy of the plan, we were referred on to
Muskoka Algonquin CEO Barry Lockhart. To date, he has ignored our
request.
The hospital continues
to maintain that these are just proposals, that it has made no decision.
Yet the Jan. 16 lab review contains the hospital’s response to its
recommendations, which include permanently moving many of MAHC’s lab
tests to Barrie and Brampton.
The MAHC should stop
harassing workers who are trying to save the lab. A major decision of
this magnitude should respect the community and be opened to input and
debate. All documents around these proposals should be made transparent,
including the LHIN lab plan. The Ministry of Health and the LHIN must
also be called to account, explaining to taxpayers how a proposal to
spend more money to deliver less timely services has got to this stage
in the planning process.
Leah Casselman
President, Ontario
Public Service Employees Union
