Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government are hacking and slashing hospital budgets in a way that\u2019s more chaotic than Mike Harris ever was, says a coalition fighting to save hospital beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cChainsaw Mike,\u201d as Harris was dubbed, was \u201cmore honest and more transparent,\u201d than Wynne, said Natalie Mehra of the Ontario Health Coalition.<\/p>\n
If Harris was \u201cMike the Knife,\u201d then Wynne is Hacksaw Kathleen \u2014 an out-of-control juggernaut clearcutting the hospital system.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point, there\u2019s no tracking of the health cuts by the health ministry,\u201d Mehra told a Toronto Sun editorial board last week.<\/p>\n
Worse, Mehra says there\u2019s no planning behind the cuts and no attempt to restructure hospitals along population lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference between this and the last two sets of hospital restructuring, both under the (Bob) Rae government and the Harris government, is that there\u2019s no actual plan today,\u201d she said. \u201cPlanning for hospital services is totally divorced from population need.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Harris was, \u201cby far,\u201d more transparent than Wynne. His government brought in a hospital restructuring commission that was open and had a plan that was publicly debated, said Mehra. They held town hall meetings and decisions could be appealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t agree with the methodology, but nonetheless there was an actual plan and it wasn\u2019t totally divorced from need and it accepted the fact that the government actually had to plan healthcare,\u201d Mehra said.<\/p>\n
Recent cuts have been haphazard and with no logic to them, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last five years, hospitals just cut what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hospital amalgamations that occurred under Harris and Eves were supposed to create administrative savings. Instead it\u2019s turned into a decimation of small and rural hospitals in communities across the province.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo planning body has ever said these hospitals should be closed down and that entire towns should lose their hospitals, but that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Mehra says the Liberal government politicized local planning by replacing local ministry planners, who were often sympathetic to the concerns of communities, with Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) \u2014 political appointees under the control of cabinet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re supposed to have accountability agreements that set quality targets and performance targets as well as financial targets,\u201d she said. Despite being in operation since 2006, they still don\u2019t set targets.<\/p>\n
Home care is in disarray and no one ensures standards are met.<\/p>\n
The NDP did a bed study in 1994. The Harris government had the Hospital Restructuring Commission in 1995. Since then, there has not been any capacity planning.<\/p>\n
Without a capacity study, it\u2019s impossible to put together a plan. Mehra says this is the ninth consecutive year in which the global budget for hospitals has been cut in real dollars.<\/p>\n
Her group wants the government to end the cuts which she says puts this province at the lowest funding level in the country.<\/p>\n
A Health ministry spokesman responded to their claims, saying the government has invested an extra $1 billion in healthcare this year – including $345 million more for hospitals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we continue to invest in hospitals, we must recognize that we\u2019re moving towards a system where more services are delivered at home and in the community,\u201d said the spokesman. \u201cBy re-evaluating the way we have traditionally provided care, we\u2019ve been able to reduce costs while improving patient outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHospitals and community providers are now funded based on how many patients they look after, the services they deliver, and the specific needs of the population they serve. As a result, the system encourages hospitals to become more efficient and rewards better outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
And on home care?<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth care is not just about hospitals \u2013 it\u2019s about the front-line staff that provide care,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
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