Health Care

Public Health Care,
Better Services, Best Value

publicpower means having a strong public health care system that can be counted on to deliver quality patient care at the lowest possible cost to all Ontarians.

New Democrats would slam the door on health care privatization and its for-profit, afterhours cancer clinic, MRI and CT scans, ("scans for cash) and private hospitals. We would put that money where it belongs, in the public sector, where patient services are delivered better and at a lower cost..

Conservatives: Conservatives cut health care spending to finance their tax cuts to the wealthy. Their policies created a litany of problems and strains on the health care system because tax cuts mean service cuts.

Conservatives diverted public health dollars to the profits of private health care companies instead of patient care. Conservatives spent on tax cuts instead of health care.

One of the prime flaws of the Conservatives' health care policy is its drive to privatize: CT "scans for cash" for-profit MRI and a for-profit after-hours cancer clinic.

The quality of home care was ravaged by the Conservative competitive bidding process that pushed respected non-profits like VON and Red Cross out of the home care business, replaced by the low-wage paying, profitmaximizing, corporate home care providers.

The Conservatives raised nursing home fees by 15 per cent. They eliminated the bathing requirement and did away with minimum standards for seniors in nursing homes. Seniors and their families pay more for less care than ever before.

They chased away and laid-off health care professionals and created a shortage of doctors, nurses and other providers across Ontario.

Under the Conservatives, hospitals turned away ambulances, air ambulance service was privatized, doctor and specialist shortages doubled to 121 communities, more services were de-listed from OHIP coverage. And they dragged their feet on reforming primary health care services, bringing on board more nurse practitioners and more staff in nursing homes. User fees for health care are now a fact of life in Conservative Ontario.

The Conservative Government introduced a for-profit cancer clinic, costing $500 more per patient, when it should have invested in the public system where the money goes further and is used more strategically. When the Conservatives first took office, they halted major regional cancer centres planned by the NDP to ward off today's crisis, and cancelled an entire graduating class of much-needed radiation therapists.

Liberals: You never know where the Liberals stand and you can't trust that they won't change their position again.

Dalton McGuinty told the Ottawa Citizen he has an "open mind" on health care privatization. Liberals say they oppose private hospitals, but they won't stop the private hospitals planned for Ottawa and Brampton.

Liberals won't end the privatization of home care and the competitive bidding process that has caused communities across Ontario to lose the solid, quality non-profit services of agencies like VON for something higher priced and not as good.

Philosophically Liberals aren't opposed to private MRIs as long as no one gets to jump ahead in line.

NDP: There is not a shred of evidence anywhere in the world that privatization in the health care system saves money or improves quality.

In fact, the provincial auditor found that the private cancer clinic established by the Conservatives cost $500 more to treat each patient than would a publicly funded and administered clinic.

publicpower means the full implementation of the Romanow Report. It means that every health care dollar must go to patients, not to for-profit companies or Conservative tax cuts.

It means more home care for seniors, adequate mental health services, more health professionals - doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners and others - working in the field, an independent health care commissioner and a patients bill of rights for Ontario.

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