That Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews, who presided over the Ornge scandal, remains in her portfolio in the new Wynne government is unfathomable to me. A woman of breathtaking incompetence who steadfastly refused all calls for her resignation as each sordid detail of corruption and sybaritic spending within the air
Continue readingTag: deb matthews
OPSEU Diablogue: Ottawa and Hamilton: Significant hospital cuts ahead despite rhetoric from Premier-designate
Dr. Jack Kitts, CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, says he plans to transfer about 5,000 endoscopies to community hospitals and clinics as part of an overall plan to find $31 million in savings towards balancing the hospital’s budget. Kitts announced … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: In Brief: Hospital cuts as transfers, Pupatello’s ego gets the better of her
Pop quiz: who wrote this: “Our government expects – as do health care providers – that this change will exacerbate the health conditions of patients with chronic conditions and those who are at risk of developing such conditions. In addition, … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Living Longer, Living Well: Muddled seniors strategy undermines universality of home care
There have been fewer than the usual suspects applauding the release of Living Longer, Living Well, Dr. Samir Sinha’s anticipated recommendations for a new seniors strategy for Ontario. In the early days of 2013, maybe nobody is yet paying attention. … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Equivocator: The 2012 “You Go Girl!” Awards. Presented by: The Equivocator
Context: I don’t like to think of this blog as existing in a vacuum. You may not be aware of it but I am also an avid user of the twitter and the facebook (my twitter feed is there on the right side of my blog btw.) On twitter (you can
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Campaign: Health4All asks Ontario to follow other provinces to protect refugee healthcare
Even right-wing Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall thinks it’s wrong. Recent cuts to the Interim Federal Health program for refugees have led to a storm of criticism by the medical community and provincial politicians across Canada. While Immigration Minister Jason Kenney … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: The best of Diablogue in 2012
It’s time for us to take our seasonal break and wish the best of the season to all our readers and posters. Next year will be challenging for health care activists as hospitals continue to shed services to balance their … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Managing scarcity in long term care
Managing scarcity can be very time consuming. Ontario has been wrestling with rules around managing the shortage of long-term care beds, trying to find ways to meet sometimes contradictory objectives of freeing up hospital beds, reuniting spouses, accommodating veterans, prioritizing … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Worth repeating: We can do better — Matthews
At today’s Ontario Hospital Association HealthAchieve Minister Deb Matthews gave an illustration of how integrated health service delivery can save money and enhance patient care. She makes clear that we do need to do better. The question is,…
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: CBS: Deb Matthews’ indifference costing quality jobs in northern Ontario
Health Minister Deb Matthews is often regarded by the media as one of the front runners to replace Dalton McGuinty as Ontario Premier – a surprise given the intense scrutiny the Minister has been under for her role in the ORNGE air … Continue reading →
Continue readingCalgary Grit: OLP Leadership Update
While Federal Liberal leadership aspirants are free to subject their candidacy to a year-long striptease before declaring, Ontario Liberals do not have the luxury of time. With the membership cut-off in just four weeks, there’s little time to play coy. Yasir Naqvi mulled it over for a few days before
Continue readingCalgary Grit: After 16 Years of McGuinty, What’s Next for OLP?
Sixteen years ago, Dalton McGuinty won the Ontario Liberal leadership race at 4:30 am, after 5 rounds of voting. Always one to defy expectations, McGuinty worked his way up from 4th place over the course of 9 hours in what was truly one of the wildest leadership conventions in Canadian
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: 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: 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: PSW Registry – Many issues unresolved despite impending deadline
As the deadline approaches for home care personal support workers to register with the government’s new PSW Registry, key issues remain up in the air and are unlikely to be resolved soon. PSWs may very well ask what they are registering … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Ontario gets worse grade than feds on CMA report card
Ontario is the only region in Canada to receive a worse rating than the federal government on how it deals with health care according to the Canadian Medical Association’s National Report Card for 2012. The report card represents a poll … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Refugee Health: The Harper government blinks
The Harper government blinked this week. Determined to bulldoze through unpopular cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) for refugees, the government partially backed off claiming they were simply “clarifying the wording” on the plan. The plan provides interim comprehensive … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: PSW registry up and running despite unresolved key issues
Health Minister Deb Matthews rose in the legislature to announce June 13 the new PSW Registry is up and running. Initially PSWs (Personal Support Workers) in the home care sector are being asked to sign up, followed by those working Ontario’s long … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Zero tolerance for abuse and neglect? Hardly.
Health Minister Deb Matthews talks about zero tolerance of neglect and abuse in Ontario’s nursing homes. Her actions would suggest the opposite. Yesterday Matthews said that inspection of long-term care homes will be based on complaints only. If the home … Continue reading →
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