Defend Public Healthcare

Here's a  report on a recent investigation into spending for routine maintenance at a British public private partnership (P3) hospital: "The North Cumbria Hospital Trust has paid £466 to replace a light fitting, £75 to install an air freshener, £184 to have a bell put into a reception area, £977 to install six double sockets, £110 to fit a shelf... and so it goes on. It goes on to the tune of £1,942,842 spent on routine maintenance in 2010/11. This from a debt-ridden trust haemorrhaging £1.2 million a month." £1,942,842 is over $3 million.   The investigation into the P3 was done by the British Conservative Party, hardly a bastion of anti-privatization bias. A number of the British P3 hospitals are so weighed down by the cost of their P3 deals that they have asked government for special compensation to help them pay their bills.  Here is the conclusion reached by the editorialists at one local British paper: "Ministers are urgently considering this which wil

The Ontario Hospital Association today claims that "Ontario hospitals have been a driving force behind the extension of FIPPA (i.e. freedom of information legislation) to their organizations and are embracing the new levels of openness that the legislation is bringing to their organizations." This is laying it on pretty thick as the OHA, along with the insurance industry,  helped  secure  an amendment from the government earlier this year to freedom of information legislation that  allows hospital CEOs to deny requests from the general public for access to an array of information regarding quality of healthcare in hospitals.   As Ontario Health Coalition Director Natalie Mehra observed at the time:  “Today, (the government) undid a substantial portion of its own legislation passed last fall to expand hospital accountability in the wake of the e-Health scandal.” It would be nice to think the hospitals might become more open and transparent, but it is hard to believe.  T

A shortage of hospital beds led to 32 Code Reds in February 2011 in Waterloo Region, The Record reports. "Code Reds" occur when no ambulances are available to take 911 calls. One Code Red lasted four hours on Feb. 14. A shortage of hospital beds is forcing paramedics to wait in emergency rooms to hand over patients to hospital staff, the Record reports. Regional politicians are being asked to hire five more paramedics to improve EMS  response times. In effect, hospital shortages are driving up municipal costs. Waterloo Region ambulances reach 90 per cent of emergencies within 12 minutes and 32 seconds, up 33 seconds over 2010. The legislated response time is 10 minutes and 30 seconds. The Director of the Waterloo EMS told the Record that off load delays fell in October and November after the service started taking patients to a less-busy hospital even if the hospital was not designated for the patient’s symptoms. “It was safer for a patient to be in the wrong hospit

New research from St, Michael's Hospita l in Toronto suggests that more than two-thirds of paramedics have experienced verbal, physical or sexual abuse on the job. "EMS providers can experience violence in the workplace as they perform their jobs in unpredictable environments and near people in crisis," said Blair Bigham, the lead investigator. "Anecdotal reports and workplace safety records have highlighted cases of verbal, physical and sexual abuse, yet until now, there has been little scientific research. More research is needed to understand the impact of this workplace violence." The study found: Verbal abuse was reported by 67.4 per cent of EMS workers surveyed.  Intimidation was reported by 41.5 per cent.  Physical abuse was reported by 26.1 per cent.  Sexual harassment was reported by 13.6 per cent.  Sexual assault was reported by 2.7 per cent. Patients, or patient family and friends were the most common perpetrator. The study was based

British charities have warned that people's fears over losing their jobs and homes have fuelled a massive 20 per cent jump in the number of people suffering from mental health problems in 2011. And the  British National Health Service has reported that nearly 10 million more prescriptions were issued for anti-depressants in England than at the start of the crisis in 2007, a 28 per cent rise.  Mental health charities said the stress of recent years means more people are experiencing mental health problems. At the same time, British public health care is being squeezed.   Is the same true on this side of the pond? I haven't seen the figures -- but  I wouldn't be surprised. 

The Toronto Star concludes an editorial on the Ornge affair (where the Star revealed that the top boss of the air ambulance was raking in an incredible $1.4 million annually) that Ornge should be more accountable to the public. ...Ontarians deserve more transparency and accountability from an entity that runs largely on $150 million of taxpayer funds and provides a vital service. At a time when the health system is under financial pressure, we need to know that public money is being properly spent. Quite right.   But the excuse used for not revealing the enormous pay out was that Ornge (a not-for-profit entity expected to report its top salaries to the public) had set up for-profit entities.  The Star does not mention that many, many totally for-profit outfits get bags of money to provide public services and are under no obligation to report publicly.   What about them?  Don't we also "need to know that public money is being properly spent"?

Last night Andrew Lansley, the British health minister, condemned the high fees charged by private corporations to do basic repair work in public private partnership (P3) hospitals.   P3s allow private corporations to become involved in the financing and maintenance of hospitals.   Ontario has followed Britain into using P3s for hospital projects. Lansley told the Telegraph : "[Hospitals are] being forced to spend extortionate sums on private contractors rather than spending that money on helping sick patients get better." The Telegraph (a conservative newspaper) reports that a series of Freedom of Information requests has disclosed how hospitals that are locked into long term P3 deals are forced to pay “hyper-inflated” charges for basic services.  Figures uncovered by the Telegraph show the following examples of charges from private corporations that won P3 hospital contracts: North Staffordshire hospital paid £242 to put on  a padlock North Cumbria University Hospi