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March 21, 2024

In Homecare, For-Profit delivery leads to Public Pains

QUEEN’S PARK – France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt rose in the legislature to share the challenges Nickel Belt constituents face accessing Ontario’s homecare.

“This morning, I want to share examples from my riding of why privatization of our health care system is harmful. We all know that when the conservative government of Mike Harris was in power, they privatized our home care system. Private companies were going to make home care work more efficiently, serve more people, offer more care. Now we all know that none of that is true. The privatization of home care made 100s of millions of dollars for private companies’ shareholders with dire repercussions on the people needing care.

Take Tina Senior’s beautiful 6 years old son Alex. Bayshore gets paid 1.5 hours of nursing care daily while Alex is at school, but they only schedule the nurse to be there for 15 minutes. So, his mom Tina a nurse with over 20 years experience at HSN had to quit her job in order to keep her son’s safe.

Mrs. C from Hanmer agreed to take her husband home from the hospital while he awaits placement in a LTC home, with the help of home care services. Of course, home care never shows up when they are supposed to. But get this Speaker, since her daughter mentioned that she would go help her Dad after work. Now the only time Bayshore offers that family care if after 3:00 and since the family refuses care, Bayshore gets paid but no care is provided and this elderly women is completely burned out.

The list goes on, this is what privatization does. Money for share holders and suffering for people needing care”

March 7, 2024

Residents of Cat Lake need Minister’s help

QUEEN’S PARK – During today’s Question Period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) asked Minister of Health Sylvia Jones to help the residents of Cat Lake regain access to health care services.

“Equity of access to health care is the responsibility of the Minister of Health. For decades, the residents of Cat Lake had access to excellent nurses and nurse practitioners, but their nursing station burned down last week. They can not just go to the closest walk-in clinic, this is a fly-in First Nation community. They have no access to care.

Is the Minister going to simply add the 650 residents of Cat Lake, to the 10,000 residents of Sault Ste Marie to the 2.2 million Ontarians who do not have access to primary care? Or is she going to take her responsibilities and work on a solution to give the residents of Cat Lake access to care?”

According to figures released by the Ontario College of Family Physicians, Ontario is on track to have more than 4.4 million Ontarians without access to primary care by 2026.

March 4, 2024

Ontario’s patients lining up outside in the cold in the hope of accessing primary care

QUEEN’S PARK – During today’s Question Period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) asked Minister of Health Sylvia Jones to explain why Kingston residents were forced to wait hours in the cold last week for the chance to gain access to a primary care provider.

“Last week hundreds of people in Kingston got up at 3:00 am to go stand outside in the cold and wind for a chance of gain access to primary care. How can the minister explain that?”

The CBC reported that the CDK Family Medicine and Walk-In Clinic in Kingston held rostering days last week that saw hundreds of patients, line up for blocks hoping to register with a family doctor.

“The minister should be ashamed. Sick people, frail, elderly people standing out side for hours.  This is happening under her watch. Everyone agrees the solution is in interdisciplinary care. Where physicians work along social workers, nurses, dietitians, health promoters. You have received solutions from hundreds and hundreds of communities. Why are you only funding 78 of them?”

Last month Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced over money for 78 “new and expanded primary care teams” across the province as part of a bilateral health-care deal with the federal government, while hundreds of communities go without.

 

February 29, 2024

Ontario’s patients have waited too long for coverage of Take Home Cancer Drugs

QUEEN’S PARK – During today’s Question Period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) asked Minister of Health Sylvia Jones how much longer Ontario Patients will need to wait for take home cancer drugs.

“British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec all cover Take Home CancerDdrugs, some of them for over a decade. But in Ontario we let people face administrative and emotional barriers on their already difficult cancer recovery journey.

Minister in 2022 your government said it would consider covering take home cancer drugs. Now the Canadian Cancer Society is calling out this government.  The data is clear: access to take home cancer drugs save lives. Minister how much longer are we going to have to wait for Ontario to cover take home cancer drugs?.”

All medicines in hospital are free for Ontario patients, modern cancer therapies are no longer delivered via IV but instead are in pill form taken at home. These therapies save time for patients and health professionals, but Ontario continues to force Ontarians to pay for cancer medication if they are not delivered in a hospital. Although the 2022 budget “committed to bringing together an advisory table to explore improvements to access to take‐home cancer drugs” stakeholders like the Cancer Society have indicated no committee was assembled. The Ontario NDP committed to funding take home cancer drugs in their 2014 and all subsequent election platforms.

 

February 23, 2024

Support Ontarians at Home

QUEEN’S PARK – France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt rose in the legislature to speak about the challenges Ontario’s homecare clients and Personal Support Workers face.

“People in Ontario want to age at home, they do not want to move in a Long-Term Care home. We know how to support people in their own homes where they want to be. We have the knowledge and the skills; but frail, elderly Ontarians face a broken home care system. In Ontario for profit home care companies are more interested in making a profit then in providing people with the care and support that they need to stay home safely.

A Personal Support Worker was in my office a few days ago, asking how he could continue to service his clients in Dowling and Onaping – rural northern communities in my riding – after Canadian Shield cut his milage rate in half, from 52 cents to 25 cents a kilometer.

Speaker most home care workers do not get paid between clients, in my riding they may drive for 30, or 45 minutes between clients all on their own time for 25 cents a kilometer. It doesn’t matter how hard they work it is impossible to make enough money to survive. So many PSW who love their clients, who are good at what they do, have no choice but to leave the home care system in order to feed their kids and pay their rent.

Right now Paramed a for profit home care company is withholding money that the government has send to PSW working in home care in order to gain concessions from their PSW. All this is happening under this government watch, it is so wrong.

People needing home care deserve better, PSW working in home care deserve better!”

February 22, 2024

When will the Capreol Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic get the money they have been asking for since 2021?

QUEEN’S PARK – During Wednesday’s Question Period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) called out Ford’s conservatives for yet another shameful milestone. Sudbury’s new private for-profit Nurse Practitioner Clinic charging patients money for each visit.

“The nurse practitioner who opened the clinic said, and I will quote her words, “Had the Capreol clinic received funding to hire a permanent position, I would have likely stayed there.” I have hand delivered modest funding proposals from Capreol Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic to the Minister numerous times since 2021,” said Gélinas. “We have underemployed Nurse Practitioners in Northern Ontario. They would love to care for us in the public system, but this government is forcing them to open private clinics.“

“Every day brings new reports of healthcare workers leaving our public system,” said Gélinas. “The numbers reveal that this government is diverting funds from the public system to fund a private two-tier health care system. We can’t retain our homegrown professionals in the public system because the Conservative government still refuses to fund permanent positions in public not for profit clinics.  The NDP will not stand by while this happens. We demand this government takes the healthcare crisis seriously and commit to saving Medicare, where care is based on needs not on ability to pay!”

“When will the Capreol NPL clinic get the money they have been asking for since 2021?” asked MPP Gélinas. *Minister Jones responded that the people of Capreol should be satisfied with the recent funding announcement for the Chapleau and District Family Health team.  Showing once again how little, they know about Northern Ontario- when Highway 144 is open it is a 5.5 hours drive from Capreol to Chapleau.

In a presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic affairs at the Radisson Hotel in Sudbury in January of this year, Executive Director of the Capreol Clinic, Nurse Practitioner Amanda Rainville stated “We (the Capreol clinic) are at full capacity and are unable to intake any new patients with our current funding.”

December 5, 2023

More and more Emergency Room closures under this conservative government

This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Minister of Health Sylvia Jones about the unprecedented number of Emergency Room closures the Ontario Health Coalition could identify so far in 2023.

” The Ontario Health Coalition was able to identify 1199 vital hospital services closures, 868 ER closures, 316 urgent care closures, 11 obstetrics closures, the list goes on, labour and delivery closures, ICU closures, hospital out-patients lab closures. Every single one of these closures put patient health and life at risk.

The Minister must be very proud, her plan to create a crisis in our health care system is working perfectly. How many more private clinics will the minister be able to fund given this level of crisis?”

The recently closed Minden Emergency Room is becoming a Community Nursing Clinic in Partnership with SE Health and ParaMed Home Health Care. Former Minister of Health Christine Elliott sits on the board at SE Health while ParaMed Home Health is a subsidiary Extendicare Inc.

November 28, 2023

Private Hospitals get preferential treatment with the Conservative Government

This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Premier Ford about the province’s use of public funds to help expand private hospitals.

“Speaker why is Ontario paying 330 % more for surgeries in for profit clinics than in public hospitals.” The member from Eglington Lawrence stated, “These centres have higher costs because they’re purchasing equipment.” Don Mills Surgical Unit, a for profit hospital, expanded from 3 to 6 operating rooms and 7 recovery bays, while our public hospital operating rooms sit dark and empty and against the Private Hospitals Act that forbids expanding for-profit hospitals. Why are you expanding private hospitals where we pay more for less?”

After a CBC report on fees paid to private clinics, the Ontario Health Coalition shared more research on the expansion of the Don Mills Surgical Unit.

“Speaker, the previous Minister of Health, is now a lobbyist for Clearpoint, the corporation that owns Don Mills Surgical Unit. The Ontario’s Members’ Integrity Act prohibits former Cabinet Ministers from ever making representations to the provincial government. Don Mills received a 278% funding increase when Christine Elliott was Minister of Health. Does the Premier support the fact that his former Minister of Health is lobbying for preferential treatment for Don Mills?”

On November 7 2023, Premier Ford’s former Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott registered to lobby on behalf of Clearpoint Health Network Inc, a subsidiary of Kensington Capital Partners Limited.

November 17, 2023

Patients need access to dental care

France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt and Health Critic for the Official Opposition rose in the legislature to share the challenges Ontarians are facing accessing dental services in Ontario.

“Speaker, Ian Watson from my riding is a cancer survivor, living with the long-term side effects of radiation treatment for lymphoma; which means frequent dental problems and procedures. Ian was notified earlier this year that he’s no longer eligible for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Plan because his 2022 income exceeded the $22,200 Net Income threshold.

He is not the only one, Gail is $3 over, her net income is 22,203 so she no longer qualifies but she needs dental services and can not afford to pay. Unlike the Seniors Co-Payment Program which is based a yearly income after deductions the dental plan is based on income before deductions. Ian is asking why this provincial government applies a different interpretation of net income for one program versus another. But what thousands of seniors want to know is why is this government making it so difficult for seniors to access basic dental care. Why is the eligibility income set so low.

Your mouth is part of your body, if your mouth is sick and you don’t have private coverage you will end up at one of our province’s overcrowded emergency rooms in pain or worse. The government of Ontario has left way too many patients in pain. I suppose we’ll need to wait for the federal government to clean up this government mess.”

November 16, 2023

Team Ford Playing Favorites with Vaccine Distribution

This morning during question period, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Premier Ford about the province’s decision to allow Shoppers Drug Mart to operate as a vaccine distributor for the province.

“Last week two Toronto pharmacies declared publicly that they are no longer administering vaccines due to major problems with the province’s new vaccine distributor. Who is the new distributor Speaker? Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws’ chain of pharmacies. The pharmacists in question reported receiving only 10% of their orders, having to cancel days of prebooked appointments, a real headache. Does the Premier see a conflict of interest in having Shoppers Drug Mart responsible for distributing vaccines to their competitors?”

It was widely reported last week that Toronto Pharmasave pharmacists were ending vaccination programs at two locations due to supply issues.

“Complaints against Shopper Drug Mart handling of the vaccine distribution are coming from every part of the province, even from Shopper Drug Mart pharmacy owners. A pharmacist in Northern Ontario told me that last year she was alone, so she only administered a limited amount of vaccines. This year she was able to recruit 3 pharmacists to come and help her, she got vaccine clinics booked solid for weeks on end but no vaccine as the distributor will only give her a percentage of what she used last year. When it comes to high dose flu vaccines the situation is even worse.

Speaker, Public Health handled vaccine distribution in Ontario for decades with no issues. They knew and listened to local providers. They were reliable. Does the Premier understand that handing the distribution of vaccines over to his friends is having drastic consequences on the health of Ontarians?”