A Submission from Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath
(Niagara At Large is a non-partisan news and commentary site with a record of posting submissions from all of Ontario’s political parties. This one is from the province’s New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath.)
Friends,
As the holiday season approaches we often think more about our friends and families, and what an important part they play in our lives. It’s the wish to see our loved ones healthy, happy, and well cared for that makes Ontario’s health care system such an important issue for all of us.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath
Today, we’re asking to hear your experiences when trying to access health care in Ontario. We want to know where you’ve seen the system fail or succeed, so that together we can continue to focus on the things that most need to be fixed in Ontario’s health care system.
- Your experiences in ER?
- Wait times?
- Caring for older family members?
My team and I recently released Delivering Access, a consultation paper that asks Ontarians for feedback about their experiences with our health care system, and how they think it might be improved.
Where others might rely on political consultants to determine their policies, it’s your personal stories that will guide our solutions and bring greater meaning to this process.
Please send your personal stories to yoursay@ndp.on.ca, and tell us what your experiences have been.
Best wishes, Andrea
(Niagara At Large invites all of you who dare to share your first and last name with your comments to share your views on this post below.)
Niagara At Large 
Forgive me for having a somewhat negative vibe about sending politicians requested feedback on how “things” are working” but I’ve yet to see changes made as a result of said feedback contributions. This truly does include all of the testimonials that were sent when our hospital and others that were downgraded to urgent care things. Remember the huge protests, the busses from all over Ontario going to Queens Park to protest, the arrests made at one of Douglas Memorial Hospital’s protest, the people we all know who have died due to the changes we protested and the list can go on and on. In case you missed my disrespectful wording and refusal to capitalize; disdain is what I feel about about being conned into thinking our opinions are even glanced at. I wish someone would prove me wrong before one of these great changes kills me. I beg someone to prove me wrong.
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Andrea
I have a question about the recent announcement by the MInister of Health that she had reached an Agreement with Ontario Doctors.
Was the agreement reached at the expense of the Taxpayers???
About a year ago I had Cataract surgery on my left eye and the cost for lazer measurement was $125.00 NOT covered by OHIP Then just recently I found the right eye has to be done with small adjustments to the left eye THE COST OF THE LAZER MEASUREMENT HAS ESCALATED by 60% to $200.00 and I wonder if this additional cost was sanctioned by our Minister of Health as part of her settlement with the Doctors. I also wonder if this was sanctioned for other incidentals the Doctors have in their Bag?
From Past Experiences with this and other Ontario Ministers of Health I would NOT be surprised if this is the case I would like to Know Andrea for their will be many seniors who can’t afford this INCREASE.
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The question should read: Why people travel to the US for extraordinary health care requirements?
The answers:
1) It doesn’t take 9 months to see a specialist. It typically takes a week. I could be dead by the time that the OHS gets to me. This must be part of their strategy of lowering costs by allowing patients to become terminal.
2) It doesn’t take 2 additional months to get the results of said test. As the patient leaves the US hospital they have a meeting with the doctor who reviews the immediate results with the patient and discusses options.
3) The hospitals are not a risk in themselves. Who hasn’t been touched in some ways by CDiff. Cleaning should not be challenge in a hospital environment. Oops I forgot…. union cleaning staff who spend more time ducking out of doing their job than actually doing it (I know a few people)…
On what could be done, firstly I suggest of getting rid of the architects for the new hospitals and major renovations that are underway. I go to a hospital for treatment. I do not need to go to a facility that spent millions on atriums, vaulted cielings, stainless steel, artwork, statues and exotic wood accents….. These tax resources could be better used to increase frontline staff, equipment and reducing wait times. How does a 20ft+ cieling contribute to health care? It doesn’t. It increases the upfront capital and ongoing operating costs of the facility.
Secondly, reverse the outrageous wage increases introduced by the Liberal government across the entire health sector. This was all done to buy votes and increase union support for the liberals.
Thirdly, management needs to get a handle on overtime. Too many people are playing the overtime system game just the way the NRP does. Seems to be a common practice in union work environments.
Fourth, reverse management bonusses and wages until bonified improvements are realized in the areas of operating efficiency, reduced costs and improved quality of service. The phenomenom of getting a bonus to do a crappy job seems to run rampant in public work places as opposed to private organizations where the purse strings are more managed more effectively.
Fifth, if the Feds think immigration is such a great idea and that bringing in roughly 300k people (at this time of record unemployment oddly) per year from some pretty crappy places in the world doesn’t have an impact on health care services should give its head a shake and should increase health care transfers to compensate.
It takes strong leadership to correct the fallout from COMRADE McGuinty’s vote buying fiscal strategies. Sadly, I don’t expect to see that kind of leadership from any of the Ontario provincial party leaders.
Just sayin….
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Apparently doctors will perform less scrutiny in doing Medicals according to Deb Matthews this was a selling point in her agreement with the doctors….OK Doctors what will be omitted, Blood work, Blood Pressure testing, Lung Xrays Oops sorry they already eliminated this.
She, Matthews, seemed quite happy with herself but then again what’s NEW ???????
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blah blah blah blah blah …. that’s all we ever hear from any politicians, of whatever stripe, about health care!
All you politicians do is yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Get off your privileged asses and actually do something!
Until we can get politicians who are more concerned about the welfare of the people than they are concerned about the welfare of their party and ideology, we will not see any change. This statement applies to ALL politicial parties … including the so-called “greens” who are even more out of touch with reality than the NDP, Conservatives and Liberals.
If you get the impression that I am fed up, angry, short-tempered — you are correct!!!
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