Asking how the ratio of management to front line staff has changed at a public hospital seemed like a straight-forward question. In this era of obsession with hyper-efficiency, you’d think the Ministry of Health, the Local Health Integration Networks and … Continue reading →
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OPSEU Diablogue: Are there more managers and fewer front line staff? At some hospitals, absolutely
Earlier this year we issued a freedom of information request to 20 sample hospitals where OPSEU represents health care workers to understand whether managers are in fact replacing front line health care workers. It’s a frequent complaint we hear. While the … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Employee engagement has substantial impact on reducing workplace stress – OHA study
Ontario hospitals could be paying a big price for not engaging their employees. A new study from the Ontario Hospital Association suggests that “the quality of the work environment for staff and physicians is a key determinant of a high-performing … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Health Coalition Action Assembly November 17-18
The Ontario Health Coalition is holding its annual Action Assembly and Conference on the weekend of November 17-18 at the University of Toronto’s Hart House. The Action Assembly plans the Ontario Health Coalition’s actions and priorities for the coming year. … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Tax cuts don’t spur economic growth — study
The Ontario government has long believed that cutting corporate taxes will spur economic growth. A new six-decade study from the U.S. Congressional Research Services says that tax rates “have had little association with saving, investment or productivity growth.” The study … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Women with mental illness disproportionaley more likely to end up in jail
Women with mental illness are disproportionately more likely to find jail than health care help according to the associate chief of psychiatry at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen editorial board, Dr. AG Ahmed says … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Vector Poll — Most Ontarians think McGuinty government is doing a poor job on major health priorities
Deb Matthews may want to get out more. We’ve previously noted that Ontario’s Health Minister has made far fewer public speeches than her predecessors. The Ministry’s on-line speech archive lists two speeches for Matthews this year, one for last year. … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Vector Poll: Ontarians less comfortable with placing a family member in a nursing home
Ontarians are less comfortable with the prospect of a family member in a nursing home than residents of other provinces according to an August Vector Poll. Only 20 per cent said they would feel “very comfortable” with the idea compared … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Hospitals: Who is earning more than the $418,000 proposed BPS salary cap?
The Ontario Hospital Association is disappointed again. This week Dwight Duncan announced the government’s intention to cap salaries for new employees in the broader public sector – including hospitals – to $418,000 a year, or double Dalton McGuinty’s salary. The … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Health and safety challenges for three quarters of a million health care workers
There are more than three-quarter of a million health care workers in Ontario. Not only are patients aging and requiring more intensive care, but the workforce itself is aging and facing increases workload stress. The Ministry of Labour has issued … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: The illness or the environment? Is Ontario Shores responsible for high rate of violent incidents?
Most mentally ill patients are more likely to be the victim of the violence than the perpetrator of it. Most evidence would suggest individuals experiencing mental illness are no more inclined towards violence than the general public. Yet among Canadian … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Bad week for private companies mining for profits in health care
This hasn’t been a good week for private companies mining big profits in Canada’s health system. Quebec police are probing a hospital private-public partnership deal awarded to SNC Lavalin Group Inc according to the Globe and Mail. Police raids took place … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Reality checks in – austerity plan based on exaggerated deficits
In February we attended a forum hosted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives looking at the manufactured crisis the Liberals are using to bring in a far-reaching austerity agenda. At the time, we noted that Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Is competitive bidding in home care done? Let’s hope so.
September 10 Doris Grinspun, executive director of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, tweeted that Health Minister Deb Matthews had just announced to a nursing meeting that the moratorium on competitive bidding in home care would be made permanent. No … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Ontario Shores says we got it all wrong
Earlier this week we ran a story about how a manager at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences had used a YouTube clip from the 2000 movie “Meet The Parents” to intimidate staff. In the YouTube clip, Robert DeNiro corners … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Will new health care technology bring a utopia or dystopia?
It’s easy to get carried away with the continual promise of better health care through technology. From the IBM Watson super computer to vending machines that dispense pharmaceuticals, we are likely on the cusp of a new wave of technology … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Tory health care white paper elicits a big ho-hum
If the Tories thought that yesterday’s new health care white paper was likely to change the channel on the byelection defeats, they likely woke up this morning disappointed. Despite health care’s long standing ranking as the number one issue among … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Ontario Shores manager shows DeNiro-Stiller movie clip to intimidate staff
WHITBY – Dietary staff failed to get the joke when their Ontario Shores manager showed them a clip from the 2000 film “Meet The Parents” during a staff meeting earlier this year. In the YouTube clip, Robert DeNiro corners his … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: New Tory health plan is simple – too simple
The new Ontario Tory plan for health care is simple – eliminate the Local Health Integration Networks and the Community Care Access Centres and let between 30-40 “hub” hospitals run the health care system – or at least the bits … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Deane Report: Which came first, the underfunding or the internal conflict?
How much of a factor is underfunding to the working relationships within a public hospital? What is the impact of resulting cuts on the public’s perception and trust? In July Ken Deane’s final report was submitted to Health Minister Deb … Continue reading →
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