Defend Public Healthcare

The food was so bad, the president of the University of Winnipeg, Lloyd Axworthy, says that  “we were at the very bottom. We were being hung in effigy by students...Even the poutine was bad.” So, t wo years ago, he decided to buy out the contract of its large, multinational catering firm.   In its place, the school established its own arm’s-length culinary company, Diversity Foods, in partnership with the local non-profit SEED Winnipeg .   The Globe and Mail reports that it  was mandated to serve organic, locally grown food of an ethnically diverse variety, and to employ inner-city residents as their primary labour force. The University now has a service that provides much better food. At the same time it has increased revenue for the University.  In fact  the food is so popular that the university’s executive chef is Winnipeg’s most in-demand caterer.   What's more the school’s buying power has persuaded suppliers to finally provide ...

A short video news clip on the purchase of  the Marquise Group by the transnational corporation Compass. An earlier news story noted   t he "Vancouver Island Health Authority tried to dump its housekeeping contractor last month, but Compass Group Canada hung on to its $50-million, five-year deal with the health authority after buying Marquise Group, the company chosen to take over cleaning at several Island facilities.  VIHA turfed its agreement with Compass because of the company's poor service. Under its watch, hospitals had regular infection outbreaks, failed housekeeping audits and damaging WorkSafe B.C. Inspections.  " Or click  this link , tweeted earlier by our friends at the BC Hospital Employees Union (HEU).

A staff member at Peterborough Regional Health Centre found a fingernail in her soup at the hospital's cafeteria. The cafeteria has been taken over by the giant transnational corporation, Compass.  They claim the fingernail came in a package from a supplier (of course) . Compass is also trying to take over food services at Kingston General Hospital, likely shipping in food from the same facility as in Peterborough. Soup anyone? dallan@cupe.ca

The Vancouver Island Health Authority spent an additional $332,000 on cleaning staff in order to fight three outbreaks of Clostridium difficile in the past two years at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Hospital Employee Union communication officer Margi Blamey wants the health authority to invest in preventative measures, rather than spending so much money after an outbreak begins. "It's cheaper to prevent an outbreak than it is to contain it," she said. Since that initial outbreak that killed five people and infected nearly 100, the infection control team has instituted an immediate two-step cleaning of the entire hospital, a process not taken until the peak of the original outbreak. Infection control knows about increased infections sooner and they instantly call for more workers to do the full clean. "That speaks to the ongoing learning process that all of this has been for VIHA," said spokeswoman Suzanne Germain. The hiring of extra staff has not...

Following C. Difficile and other hospital infection problems,  the Vancouver Island Health Authority is dumping its five year contract with Compass for housekeeping services.  The Compass contract had been signed only last year.   Despite its experiences, the Authority is going back to look for another corporate cleaner, rather than do it in-house. Here's a news clip that goes over this sorry story.

Infection-control experts with the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) have largely blamed inadequate housekeeping practices for the deadly 2008 outbreak of Clostridium difficile at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH).  Housekeeping servies at the hospital had been privatized by the giant corporation Compass. Documents previously withheld by VIHA but obtained by the Nanaimo Daily News show health officials knew by July 2008 that the virus rapidly spread to five different hospital floors because of inadequate cleaning. Personal contact and overcrowding were also issues, but "housekeeping was really the biggest problem". Compass and its subsidiaries held the Island cleaning contracts for six years, during which time hospitals had regular infection outbreaks, failed housekeeping audits and damaging WorkSafe B.C. inspections. Compass employees lacked proper training to use toxic chemicals that caused hair loss, nose inflammation, respiratory problems, and skin irr...