Ford starves health care while privatizing it
Why a bright 5-year-old wouldn’t vote for Ford, May 4 Ontario, the richest province, has a government that is starving our health-care system for funds and is providing the lowest level of funding in the country for its hospitals and healthcare system.
Doug Ford has expanded the funding of the for-profit share of publicly funded care to include private hospitals, more for-profit long-term-care beds, independent (for-profit) health facilities for surgical and diagnostic services in addition to colonoscopy and hemodialysis clinics.
Recently, the Ontario government passed Bill 175 to allow home care to be delivered by private companies. Instead of money from our taxes going directly toward improving care, it will provide higher profits for shareholders of some very large companies.
Ford has chosen to disrespect the nurses who have been the glue that held our health-care system together during the pandemic.
They and the personnel support workers in hospitals and long-term care should have full-time jobs with appropriate salaries and benefits. Many are working without benefits. Although retaining nurses and PSWs and bringing back some of the thousands who have quit is more efficient and faster than training new people, there is no plan to do so.
There is no point in bragging about all the hospitals and longterm care beds in the future when you are not able to staff the ones that you have. Marilyn Nefsky, Toronto