OPSEU Diablogue

Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj has continually suggested that his workers should effectively pay with their wages for his struggles to balance the budget. While the province tells us they are giving hospitals a funding increase of 4.9 per cent this year, Musyj suggest it is 1.49 per cent. His audited statement says otherwise.

Musyj claims he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. His costs are going up. In real terms, he says his funding is in decline and the LHIN is insisting on balanced budgets.

He says those costs include increases in non-wage expenses that are running between five and seven per cent. He clearly has no zero-based expectations there.

With the downturn in the economy, the hospital is also bringing in less revenue for semi-private and private accommodations – affecting their budget by another $700,000.

Windsor Regional Hospital posts its audited financial and operational highlights on-line. They tell a very different story.

For 2010 the hospital received an increase in provincial revenues of $10.836 million over 2009. That’s an increase in total provincial revenues of 4.62 per cent – not far off the 4.9 per cent figure quoted in the provincial budget. In addition, the hospital shows other revenues increasing by close to $1 million. Eighty per cent of hospital funding comes from the province, albeit more of it is being specifically directed into funding envelopes. It is therefore not a surprise that WRH managed to post a small surplus this year.

Next year the province is planning on reducing the increase in funding for all health care programs by $700 million. This year that increase was $2.6 billion. Next year it will be $1.9 billion according to finance minister Dwight Duncan’s spring budget.

That means there will be about 26 per cent less in new funding – not a decrease in existing funding. If everything else remains the same – Windsor Regional would likely see a funding increase of between $7 million and $8 million, not the $2.7 million Musyj claims. Musyj paints his doomsday scenario by conveniently looking only at the allocation for his global budget, leaving out all the other provincial sources of revenue.

Musyj’s says his staff costs are increasing by $6.2 million, but that includes the cost of adding new staff for rehab and complex care in the Malden building. It also includes $1 million in increases related to workers going up the grid. The actual impact of arbitrated increases is closer to $3.6 million. This is on a hospital with more than $300 million in revenues – slightly more than 1 per cent.

Musyj says he needs the additional money to satisfy increased patient demand, but according to the audited statement, he is budgeting for fewer patient days in 2010.

It would seem that staff increases are not Musyj’s problem. He clearly has other costs that are driving his bottom line. Rather than deal with those, he is scapegoating his own staff to fit a political agenda of making legislative wage settlements acceptable.

Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty scrambled to issue an apology for his comments regarding a hypothetical hospital-restructuring scenario earlier this month.

Doughty sparked community outrage suggesting that Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare should downgrade one of its two hospitals to deal with a $6 million funding shortfall. He told the local media Huntsville’s District Memorial Hospital should be the acute care centre (full service hospital) while Bracebridge should be downgraded to a chronic care facility.

The comments are likely the beginning of communities battling over increasingly scarce resources brought on by government underfunding.

Doughty said his comments addressed a “worst case hypothetical scenario”, but they still resulted in a flurry of phone calls culminating into a town hall meeting in Huntsville. Attendee’s included regional mayors, Muskoka Algonquin healthcare officials and concerned residents.

The meeting resolved with consensus to work together to maintain both full service hospitals instead of fighting over scarce funding resources. 

Barry Monaghan, interim chief executive officer for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare said a strong case was made for additional funding from the government.  A number of letters have been sent to the Minister of health Deborah Mathews requesting the necessary funding to address the structural deficit.

The community now awaits a response from the government. 

See (https://opseudiablogue.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/lhin-likely-not-going-to-play-%e2%80%9cchicken%e2%80%9d-with-muskoka-hospitals/)

Two more arbitration decisions recently awarded increases to hospital-based employees.

OPSEU members at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) were awarded retroactive increases of 2.5 per cent per year as part of a first collective agreement. The two-year agreement runs from November 7, 2008 to November 6, 2010. CHEO had retracted its wage offer during bargaining after the government introduced the Public Sector Compensation Restraint to Protect Public Services Act. The arbitrators awarded the increase following decisions at Windsor Regional Hospital, Sunnybrook, and earlier between CHEO and LIUNA.

The Toronto Star reports today that about 16,000 SEIU members in 60 hospitals across Ontario have been awarded two per cent raises in each of two years.

In this latest arbitration, arbitrator Kevin Burkett wrote: “Government pronouncements of intent with respect to future funding are not, in and of themselves, sufficient to override what would other wise be the content of an arbitrated award.A legislated directive would be required for this to happen.”

Dwight Duncan told the newspaper that “we won’t be transferring additional funds to accommodate them. That’s just the bottom line,” he said.

Tom Closson, CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, said the government should enact legislation capping what arbitrators can award so there is “equity” between non-unionized and unionized health workers.

The OHA CEO dismissed the 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down a BC law that took away worker’s rights and stripped job protection.

The CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital has been on his own rant about arbitration decisions following an award to OPSEU members at his hospital. (https://opseudiablogue.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/does-windsor-hospital-ceo-know-whats-going-on/).

No more two-year-old National Geographics! Women’s College Hospital has joined the ranks of health care environments banning magazines in their waiting room. Patients can still bring their own reading materials but are asked not to leave them behind. The hospital believes banning waiting room reading material will cut down on the spread of infectious disease. It will be interesting to see whether the ban will also include hospital leaflets and newsletters.