TORONTO: The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is demanding full reinstatement of physiotherapy and other rehabilitation services.
Cuts by the McGuinty Liberals are forcing more and more physiotherapy patients to pay for health care or do without, says OPSEU. The cuts are also reducing the services provided through the Canada Health Act.
Under the Canada Health Act, physiotherapy services at a hospital are provided for free, as are services funded through OHIP. The government has cut off two of the primary avenues to rehabilitation by forcing hospitals to cut outpatient physiotherapy and other rehab services and by delisting physiotherapy services from OHIP for
people aged 20-64.
“We are supposed to have a single-payer health insurance system, and surely physiotherapy is health care,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman. “But McGuinty is forcing many people to pay for physiotherapy and other rehab services - if they can find it and if they can afford it,” she said. “Our members who provide these services
are extremely worried about how their patients will get the care they need. We are demanding the Liberals reinstate these services."
“Without this rehabilitation, many people will never fully recover from their injury or disease. They may not be able to fully participate in society. Without full recovery, there is also danger that these people could re-injure themselves, or their condition could increase in severity, resulting in even greater costs on our
health care system,” explains Patty Rout, chair of OPSEU’s 12,000 member Hospital Professionals Division.
McGuinty’s policies have forced many of Ontario’s hospitals to cut key outpatient services resulting in the loss of dozens of physiotherapists and other rehabilitation specialists such as speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and social workers. The government’s cuts to hospital outpatient services have
effectively redefined the term “hospital services” under the Canada Health Act, OPSEU says.
Dalton McGuinty should keep his promise and adequately fund health care,” said Casselman.
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For information:
Patty Rout, Chair, Hospital Professionals Division 905-429-7529
Backgrounder
Prior to the government cutbacks, people who needed physiotherapy services could obtain them free, at a hospital, either as an inpatient or an outpatient, or at home or in a long-term care centre through the OHIP-funded CCACs, or at clinics where OHIP paid for the service.
Under the Canada Health Act, physiotherapy services at a hospital are provided free, as are services funded through OHIP. The government has eliminated two of the primary avenues to rehabilitation, by forcing hospitals to cut hospital outpatient physiotherapy and other rehab services and by delisting physiotherapy services from
OHIP for people aged 20-64. The government has told the hospitals to focus on core services to balance their budgets.
The government’s cuts to physiotherapy and other rehab services has reduced access and effectively redefined what is provided under the Canada Health Act and reduced what is provided.
Last week, the government reinstated OHIP-funded physiotherapy services for young and elderly people and for people on social assistance. But it failed to reinstate the service for the vast majority of people who need it - people aged 20-64, who are not sick or infirm enough to be admitted to hospital or long-term care centre or
confined to their home. So, for example, a 45-year old man who falls and breaks his foot, or a 30-year old woman who has MS is sadly out of luck. The government’s answer for such people is that maybe they have a private insurance plan that pays for these services.
This is no answer because many people don’t have private plans or, if they do, their plan may not cover physiotherapy. Also, many people work part-time and have no benefits at all. And, many people not in the workforce may need physiotherapy.
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Physiotherapy Service
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Before McGuinty Cutbacks
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After McGuinty Cutbacks
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Hospital Inpatient
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Provided free
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Provided free
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Hospital Outpatient
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Provided free
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Being cut
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OHIP Clinic |
Provided free
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No longer provided for ages 20-64
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Hospitals Eliminating Rehabilitation Professionals
Initial results of a recent survey of outpatient rehabilitation services at Ontario hospitals represented by OPSEU show that of 24 hospitals responding, 11 hospitals have laid off or eliminated the positions of 40 physiotherapists and other rehabilitation specialists, such as speech language pathologists, occupational therapists
and social workers. These services have been eliminated because hospitals have been forced by the government to eliminate outpatient services. People who used these services will now be forced to find and pay for them on their own.
