Put aside politicking and get down to productive discussions: Linda Silas
Here is this week’s round-up of who is saying what about public health care. This week we cover the health care staffing crisis for nurses, personal support workers (PSWs), and the risk of increased privatization of public Medicare.
Get down to discuss concrete solutions to health care
“Patient care is suffering while health-care working conditions for nurses and other health workers deteriorate. . .It is absolutely critical that we put aside politicking and get down to productive discussions around concrete solutions to the health-care staffing crisis,” said Canadian Federation of Nurses Union President Linda Silas following the health ministers’ meeting, CTV News, Dec. 2022
Ontario admits retaining health care workers is a huge challenge
“It is one of the first times I’ve seen an official source acknowledge the fact that health-care worker retention is one of the biggest challenges that they face. . .Until now, the emphasis has always been on attracting more health-care workers in. This document shows very clearly that the government is worried about the number of nurses and PSWs (personal support workers) and other health-care workers that they’re losing — they just never talk about it publicly,” said Ontario Liberal health critic Adil Shamji to Global News, Dec.13, 2022
Alberta premier’s ‘reforms’ seek to dismantle publicly-funded health care
“Will (Danielle) Smith and her UCP government live up to their responsibility to provide high-quality health care to all Albertans, and invest in our public system? Or are they only keen to dismantle the public system and offload the responsibility (and cost) to individual patients?” wrote Dr. Thara Kumar, emergency physician in Red Deer, and executive board member at Canadian Doctors for Medicare in the Edmonton Journal, Jan. 6, 2023
Behind by a century: For-profit health care a new threat
“Now, with hospitals overwhelmed by the pandemic and years of underfunding, . . .premiers see a splendid opportunity shift the blame for today’s serious health care crisis to Ottawa and advance their privatization agendas in the process . . . The real battle is over whether there will be strings attached. The premiers don’t like strings. But without strings, the floodgates will open to privatization. . .,” wrote Linda McQuaig in the Toronto Star, Dec. 29, 2022
Feature photo: Linda Silas via United Nurses of Alberta.
