Defend Public Healthcare

Bluewater Health hospital in Sarnia is reducing the laboratory tests it does for outpatients. The Observer reports that as of April 1, hospital lab services in Sarnia will only be available for outpatients that require testing for cancer care, dialysis, or an emergency.  Most will have to go to for-profit labs instead. Arlene Patterson, president of the Sarnia-Lambton Health Coalition, said the move is a budget-saving exercise and another step into the privatization of health care.

Progressive Conservative MPP and former cabinet minister, Jim Wilson has started three petitions to keep medical laboratory services in Stayner, Tottenham and Elmvale,  small communities in Simcoe county. All well and good. The centralization of medical laboratories in rural areas is causing people to travel further and wait longer for services. It's good to see a Conservative politician oppose the loss of small town health services. (And we will see if he sticks to it if the PCs are elected next year.) But in two of the three communities where Wilson has started his campaign, the labs are and run by large, for-profit corporations, Lifelabs and Gamma-Dynacare. And that's the rub. It is completely appropriate to have a political process about public services. It happens all the time.  The political process will ultimately determine whether demands from within the community will be afforded -- or not. But you can't run a for-profit business the same way. Private b