Drummond report mostly ignores mental health despite the high cost of doing nothing

Posted on March 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

The McGuinty government says they are committed to implementing about half of the recommendations from the Drummond Commission on the Reform of Public Services.

The other half will be subject to study (read: likely to drift away into the ether).

In health care most of that should be relatively easy given a significant number of Drummond’s 105 recommendations are already in the McGuinty government’s plan, from the implementation of a new funding formula for hospitals (Health-Based Allocation Model) to his endorsement of the government’s sketchy mental health strategy.

Given the recommendations are intended to be implemented over the next four years, it may take some time to ultimately figure out what is really in and out.

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Posted in Local Health Integration Networks, Mental Health

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Hospital infections: The common nonsense of Astroturfers

Posted on March 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

It’s generally good heart health NOT to read the on-line comments following major stories in the commercial media.

There is a concept called “astro-turfing” in which individuals are paid to troll through major media and leave specific comments behind. Each day they are given key points to make by their employers. The impression is that these comments reflect the “grass roots,” when in fact it is all calculated, planned, and presumably well-funded. Hence, the reference to astroturf, or an artificial “grass roots.”

This is not to say that every stupid comment reflects that of a paid astroturfer, but, well, it’s rather obvious at times.

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Posted in Hospitals

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Sunshine list excludes for-profit companies delivering public health care

Posted on March 23, 2012 | 1 comment

Like the spring weather, the annual sunshine list came out a little early this year.

The so-called “sunshine list” includes disclosure of the compensation paid to public sector workers who earn more than $100,000 per year.

It’s an annual ritual of paddling the public sector for daring to make a reasonable living.

Nor does the sunshine list measure all the big earners who do public sector work.

That’s because increasingly this work is being delivered by the private sector.

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Posted in Health System

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OHA proposes voluntary extension of CEO wage freeze

Posted on March 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

On the day Ontario’s 2011 “sunshine” list is being released the Ontario Hospital Association has called for a voluntary three-year extension of the two-year legislated wage freeze for executives.

The OHA says such a freeze would save $47 million over five years, averaging slightly less than $10 million a year on a health budget approaching $50 billion.

However, this may not necessarily mean all those CEOs and VPs will see their compensation packages unchanged.

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Diablogue’s 500th post

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 2 comments

Today OPSEU’s Health Care Divisional Council’s Diablogue posted its 500th story since beginning in January 2010.

The HCDC blog was intended to create a dialogue on public health care policy – and that it has done. Diablogue is now read by a diverse and informed community including  journalists, policy makers, think-tanks, academics, researchers, hospital CEOs, community organizers and OPSEU’s own 36,000 health care members. Comments are on the rise as many of these readers have contributed their own insights for discussion. Thank you!

Our readers tell us regularly that the site is both entertaining and informative.

We try hard to cut through the jargon-filled health care system to distill issues of importance to our readership community.

The 500th story – “Taxes: Let the mole people pay” —  looks at the unreality of a public that demands quality public health care but insists someone else should pay for it.

We also post on OPSEU’s Facebook site as well as tweet regularly from #opseu_diablogue. If there’s a story you particularly agree with, don’t hesitate to share it with others. Whether you agree or disagree, leave us a comment!

The Diablogue recently began a French language counterpart to extend our conversation further.

Here’s looking forward to the next 500 posts.

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Taxes – Let the mole people pay

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 1 comment

Late last year the Vector Poll asked Canadians about whether they supported a 5-cents a drink tax to fund mental health programs.

This is an idea that has floated around for a while. In 2007 Senator Michael Kirby suggested a five cent tax on booze would raise $500 million a year that could help revamp Canada’s woeful mental health services.

To put that in perspective, the provincial initiative to improve mental health services for children and youth is spending about $70 million per year.

The Vector Poll has shown that of all health services, Canadians have the least faith in the present mental health system. If there is anything close to consensus, it is on the necessity for new investment in these services.

The connection between mental health, addictions and alcohol is about as clear as it gets.

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Ornge: What the auditor couldn’t find out

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 1 comment

Yesterday’s special report by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario tells us much about the web of for-profit companies established by Ornge and the failure of oversight by the Minister of Health and Long Term Care.

What’s not in the report is likely of even more interest and raises questions about the relationship with other for-profit providers in the health system.

The McGuinty government subscribes heavily to the concept of steering not rowing, but clearly with Ornge there was no steering and the rowing left much to be desired.

The auditor notes: “having an arm’s-length corporation deliver air ambulance services was … consistent with the Ministry’s long-term objective of moving away from direct service delivery, with health care services being provided by external entities accountable to the Ministry.”

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Posted in Ambulance, Health System

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36 hospitals will be losers in new funding formula – significant layoffs likely

Posted on March 21, 2012 | 1 comment

This week Health Minister Deb Matthews told the media that 36 hospitals will have their budgets cut by as much as three per cent as the new hospital funding formula rolls out.

The statement leaves many questions, including which hospitals are going to lose revenue as the government shifts to a blended funding model. The Health Minister gives no clue as to what the base funding will look like – for that we have to wait for the March 27 provincial budget. The South East LHIN has told its hospitals to expect no increase in base funding, while some hospitals elsewhere in the province say they are planning for a one per cent base increase.

The Drummond Commission on Public Service Reform recommends a 2.5 per cent increase in health care funding over each of the next four years, but most of that is intended to go to community-based care, not hospitals. Over the summer the Ontario Auditor General warned that a 3.6 per cent increase in overall health care funding would likely put hospitals back into deficit or require significant cuts to services.

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Austerity likely to create more stress-related illness in the workplace

Posted on March 16, 2012 | 2 comments

Employers in the public sector may need to think a lot more about the state of mental health as it impacts the workplace.

A new round of restraint is likely to create heightened anxiety among those at risk of losing their jobs, and among those left behind, the threat of work overload and an upset work/life balance.

This is on top of a media environment where public service is being rapidly devalued; raising issues of esteem among those whose career choice is to serve their community.

Mental illness is already the number one cause for disability claims in the workplace.

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Posted in Mental Health

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Society highlights the role of laboratory professionals in new video

Posted on March 15, 2012 | 2 comments

Medical Laboratory Professionals week is not for another month (April 22-28), but the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science has released a new video highlighting the work of the profession.

The short video states that medical decisions are based on the results from the work medical laboratory professionals do, and without them, patient care would stop.

Watch the video in the window below.

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