Health Minister George Smitherman said there will be no "blank cheque" to help hospitals facing staff and service cuts despite a storm that erupted yesterday over the loss of up to 72 nursing positions at two GTA hospitals.Smitherman said Rouge Valley Health System hospitals in Ajax and Scarborough planning to cut up to 220 jobs and close 36 beds cannot expect a bailout because they have been poorly run and exceeded their budget.
Smitherman said Rouge Valley Health System hospitals in Ajax and Scarborough planning to cut up to 220 jobs and close 36 beds cannot expect a bailout because they have been poorly run and exceeded their budget.
"I don't prefer that in any circumstance," he said of the cuts. "But the alternative is to have a free-for-all where hospitals spend whatever they want and send the bill at the end of the year. The people's health system can't be sustained on that basis."
Smitherman said any nurses that lose their jobs at the Ajax and Pickering hospital or Scarborough Centenary can expect to find work nearby as the government hires 9,000 more nurses by 2011.
"I don't prefer that in any circumstance," he said of the cuts. "But the alternative is to have a free-for-all where hospitals spend whatever they want and send the bill at the end of the year. The people's health system can't be sustained on that basis."
Smitherman said any nurses that lose their jobs at the Ajax and Pickering hospital or Scarborough Centenary can expect to find work nearby as the government hires 9,000 more nurses by 2011.
courtesy of http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/412746
And in yesterday's Toronto Sun, there was an article about how there was no ambulances available to attend a call and the fire truck that responded to the original call had to walk the patient over to the hospital across the street after waiting for a half hour for an ambulance that never came. What is going on in this city?! And why isn't anyone doing anything about it. When a hospital is over crowded, how do you justify closing it. When all the ambulances are tied up at the hospital waiting sometimes 5-8 hours to off load a patient because their are not beds available, how is that right?
Wake up people! Our health care system is in crisis! And no one seems to give a damn. Forget about balancing the budget, find out why this is happening and fix it. Its time for the provincial and federal government to get off their collective asses and start fixing this problem. They created this mess, time for them to reach into those deep pockets full of the money cut from these programs and put it back where it belongs.
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