The Ford government wants Ontarians to believe privatization and downsizing are the only ways to fix health care, but health workers and progressive politicians know better

By Wendy Lee, Local 575, inSolidarity Committee

The highly anticipated “Better Care for Our Future Conference” was hosted by Hospital Professionals Division (HPD) on December 3, 2024, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel with 49 in-person and 21 virtual attendees. Sector Chair Sara Labelle inspired the audience to “dream the dream,” asking “what kind of plan and vision can we have when we work together for Health Care?”

The day was divided into four segments, with each featuring its own moderator and specialized panelists.

The conference opened with OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick calling out Doug Ford’s government for “creating deliberate chaos” in our healthcare system. Hornick urged attendees to try to “remove the restraints from the inside of our minds” and to see what “a working system could be shaped like, feel like.”

OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer Laurie Nancekivell stated that Ontarians deserve improvements to the health care system and that these improvements shouldn’t just be benefitting “his (Doug Ford’s) people.”

The government has been flogging Ontarians into doom and gloom, working to convince us that there are insufficient funds to carry the weight of the growing cost of health care. Ford’s rhetoric has been to privatize our public healthcare system while downsizing it, saying it’s the only viable fiscal solution.

Ideas abound for improving and strengthening care

But during the conference, many dynamic speakers provided insights on how our health care system can be repaired and strengthened.

Sara Labelle, who is Chair of the Hospital Professionals Division, was joined by Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, University of Toronto, and Dr. Dick Zoutman, Queen’s University to provide simple tools and strategies that would keep health care workers safe, such as infection prevention and control measures, including air cleaning through HEPA filtration, use of UV lights and other measures aside from masking.

These measures wouldn’t cost much to initiate, but in the long run, it would save millions of dollars by protecting both healthcare workers and patients from long COVID. Zoutman said that “1 in 10 patients develop long COVID after one episode,” with “hospital-acquired COVID being as high as 30 per cent  in Canada.” Zoutman cited a British Journal study that predicts one-third of all health workers will experience long COVID. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of gold – shouldn’t we all start thinking about this a little bit more?

Dr. Adil Shamji, MPP, reported that “our current health care system is not what people want – where they are getting care is in unconventional spaces such as bathrooms, public spaces and hallways.” Shamji believes that Ontarians want “more than just bike lanes and access to booze” but unfortunately have become “conditioned to accept lower standards.”

Everybody wins when we fight for safe staffing levels, more beds and better community supports

There are many viable options if the government and public would only listen. What if our health care could have safe and adequate staffing levels, with more hospital beds and community supports to serve our communities? Would you be prepared to join in the fight for it?

Darryl Galusha, CEO at Geraldton District Hospital, was candid as he recounted his near-death experience with necrotizing pancreatitis in the intensive care unit. He reflected on how this has changed him and made him “fearless” as he championed innovative strategies of having Nurse Practitioners in the Emergency Department (ED). Galusha stated that this added skill set not only kept their hospital doors open it “enhanced work-life balance to staff in the ED.”

Natalie Mehra from Ontario Health Coalition asked a simple question – “what if hospital boards were elected members from the communities” and then the board was accountable to the communities. Many rural hospitals were established with community fundraising initiatives. Shouldn’t the community in turn have a stronger voice as a stakeholder. How is it just that the government makes unilateral decisions about hospital closures without community consultation?

Rabbi Shalom discussed utilizing mechanisms like the Case Mix Index (CMI), various family advisory councils, sections of the Labour Relations Act and other union Collective Agreements such as ONA’s – to leverage language in addressing staff ratios and how to bring it to bargaining tables with our Employers. Therefore, there needs to be some qualitative measurable outcomes to proposed cuts cloaked as “improvements” or “efficiencies.”

We beat Bill 124 — we can also beat health care profiteering

Colleen Fuller, Health Policy Research, Alia Karim, Ph.D., CUPE and Rebecca Ward-McRae Ph.D., Parkland Institute, provided step-by-step accounts of how the legal system across Canada may be slow. However, a resilient spirit of hope and a passion for justice can result in positive change. In Ontario, we saw our own success when Bill 124 was ruled unconstitutional and thereby revoked.

The conference closed with Mehra and Dr. Danyaal Raza of the University of Toronto and the Decent Work and Health Network. Raza encouraged attendees to shed the “scarcity mentality” and discussed how “private insurance is not the relief valve” for our public health care system. He challenged the audience and said that “the laws are only good if we are willing to enforce them” when it comes to keeping the government accountable.

All local politicians were invited to attend the conference. Doly Begum, MPP of Scarborough Southwest, Wayne Gates, MPP of Niagara Falls and Dr. Adil Shamji, MPP of Don Valley East, attended. Each stated that health care will be a hot topic for anticipated elections in the Spring.

Leaning in on success stories like Geraldton Hospital, leveraging the legal parameters that keep the government accountable, and learning from those that can influence at all levels of our health care system – from front-line staff, to management, to policymakers, to politicians, to government, to patients and their families – is the only way we build aligning partnerships.

Taking methodological steps will lead to a more robust public healthcare system that we can proudly pass down to the next generation.