Submitted by the Office of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak
HARNESS COMPETITION FOR BETTER QUALITY HEALTH CARE
TORONTO, February 1 – Ontarians rely on quality health care to be there when we need it. We feel a special responsibility to put patients first to make sure that better quality care is there for our loved ones, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak and Health Critic Christine Elliott said today.
Ontario Conservatives Christine Elliott and Tim Hudak want to administer more private sector medicine to province’s health care system
“One of the ways Ontario can improve the quality of health care is by taking full advantage of opportunities to expand the use of productive competition to get better service at a lower cost,” Hudak said.
Hudak and Elliott made the comments in advance of next week’s release of a health care-focused Paths to Prosperity, which will call for competition for clinical services that can be provided outside a hospital or physician practice to enhance patient care.
“People with a health problem don’t care who owns or provides the service,” Hudak said, “so long as they can receive quality care when they need it and that it is covered by their OHIP card.”
Most importantly, quality, patient-focused care is enhanced at clinics specializing in uncomplicated services like diagnostics, cataracts or hernias, Hudak explained, because they focus on a few procedures – and do them well – while offering greater certainty about wait times.
“Moving services that don’t need to be performed in hospitals to clinics also frees up beds and resources to do what hospitals do best – help people with severe illness or injury through ERs, intensive care and cardiology units.”
Elliott noted that competition already plays a beneficial role in our health care system: “Doctors compete for patients, patients are free to choose their doctor, and we tender new hospital projects for the best proposal at the best price.”
The Liberals showed their misguided approach when – as one of their first acts – they bought out several private MRI clinics to make them not-for-profits simply to change their corporate structure, Hudak said. “Their priority was big government – and it didn’t help a single patient.”
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Niagara At Large 
Give up Timmy. You know bloody well you’re trying to pry open the door to privatization like the US. Where has “competition” for services gotten them? # 36 in health care outcomes between Costa Rica and Serbia – A lower life expectancy – Higher costs of 50 to 100% – millions with little or no healthcare. Do us all a favour and crawl back into your regressive neanderthal cave.
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I’ll say this for Hudak, he is driving me further and further away from what I thought were my conservative views! Does the new Niagara hospital include a good mental health wing? I suggest Timmy check himself in there until he regains his senses.
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The People of Canada during a country wide poll over whelming voted Tommy Douglas, the founder of Health Care “The Greatest Canadian who ever lived” If the followers of the Conservative Party of Ontario continue to follow Hudak it could be the “END” of that Party as it was once known and that will be a sad commentary.
Many sober minded Canadians basically consider Harper a dictator and Hudak seems to want to out do Harper’s designation. Yes Will, if I were once a Conservative Hudak would give me pause for thought many thoughts……..Amen
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