Jennie Stevens says Ford government should focus less on private clinic surgeries and more on hiring and retaining nursing staff.
St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens is sounding the alarm over health care in Ontario.
Stevens says in recent days, several patients at Juravinski Hospital have had procedures canceled at the last minute due to a lack of beds, including one person who waited three hours at the hospital to remove suspected ovarian cancer.
She is calling on the Ford government to help clear the surgical backlog by recruiting, hiring and retaining nurses instead of pushing for private clinics.
“Doug Ford’s scheme to expand the use of for-profit private clinics will suck resources from a public health care that is already short thousands of nurses and support workers,” said Stevens. “Women like my constituent, women who have ovarian cancer — who need their surgery in a hospital — will wait longer, and live in fear for longer. I’m urging the government to invest what is needed to clear the surgical backlog and fix our public health care system by taking steps like recruiting, hiring, training and retaining nurses.”
Last week, Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced details of a plan to ease health care pressures by funding more private clinic surgeries and waiving exam and registration fees for internationally trained nurses.
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