Underfunded Hospitals

Just what we needed to hear. A cash-strapped provincial government, labouring under the misapprehension that its laxity in oversight of taxpayer-funded initiatives resulting in the loss of billions of dollars has nothing whatever to do with its current shortages. Where the province's hospitals had been anticipating an increase of roughly 2% at rock bottom in increased funding for their operating budgets, their CFOs have been advised otherwise.

There will be no increase in funding for hospitals. Hospitals that have done their utmost to seek and implement cost-cutting measures in an effort to balance affordability of operational necessities against the obvious need to meet patient needs now face further strictures. The closing of hospital beds has already created a crisis situation, where surgeries have had to be postponed to meet the pressure of inadequate treatment space.

Hospitals in the Ottawa area alone are looking at a potential $51.5-million cut to their operating budgets. Those six hospitals now face the looming prospect of closing down more beds, and releasing staff in reflection of a funding freeze. This situation augers ill in terms of service to the public. Demoralized nursing staff can hardly be expected to give their all to patients while anticipating their imminent dismissal.

Ontario's huge deficit and falling tax revenues present a pitiful picture of mismanagement. Where over a billion dollars was utterly wasted in a criminally misbegotten scheme to implement a useful ehealth service, enriching self-entitled program managers, but leaving the taxpayer high and dry. And where over a billion dollars has been siphoned out of the system through a lack of due diligence in welfare payments, and welfare fraud.

Not that these are the only instances of the current government's inability to rein in costs.
There has been the bad-tasting memory of the expense scandals surrounding the Ontario Lottery Corporation. And Auditor General Jim McCarter has recently pointed out additional reckless spending of public money, particularly on social services when the community and social services ministry failed to check into anonymous complaints.

Ineligibility for welfare hasn't stopped many from successfully claiming support, and overpayments abound, with little effort made on the part of the ministry to restore public trust by taking steps to reclaim those funds. The poor quality of inspections and repairs on the province's thousands of bridges, an unfunded $11.5 liability for claims to Workplace Safety Insurance all speak of government mismanagement.

Well, the province has mismanaged its hospitals into a dire deficit position. There have been so many cuts that deleteriously affect patient health through cut-backs in hospital cleanliness that infections run rampant within the vulnerable, health-impaired patient population, risking lives, causing early deaths among the elderly.

Forcing additional severe cuts on an already overstressed network of provincial hospitals is hardly prudent nor responsible management of taxpaid dollars, and does little to restore confidence in a government that has already disappointed Ontarians through its inadequate responses to the needs of the province.