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RELEASE: Ontario’s Wynne Government Plans to Bring In Private Clinics: Threatens Non-Profit Community Hospital Care
Posted: July 17, 2014
(October 8, 2013) The Ontario government plans to introduce private specialty clinics to take the place of local community hospitals’ services. The government’s proposal would bring in legal regulations under the Independent Health Facilities Act and the Local Health System Integration Act to usher in private clinics and shut down services in community hospitals.
Ontario’s Auditor General reported in 2012 that more than 97% of the private clinics under the Independent Health Facilities Act are private for-profit corporations. The Ontario Health Coalition warned about the costs and consequences of private clinics for patient care in a press conference at Queen’s Park today. In addition to the danger of for-profit privatization, coalition director Natalie Mehra raised concerns about poorer access to care and destabilization of local community hospitals.
The coalition challenged the government to:
- Amend the IHF Act to specify that no future Independent Health Facilities can be for-profit.
- Amend the LHINs Act to specify that LHINs cannot transfer services to for-profit corporations.
- Ensure that all clinics or satellites are brought in under the Public Hospitals Act and therefore covered by its legislative and regulatory protections for quality of care, non-profit governance, and the public interest.
