 In the Press
A series of recent letters to the Toronto Star reflects
concern about how Ontario's hospitals are financed and governed. This
issue is being raised here by the Friends. Here's a sample of opinion.
Consult the Star for
details.
"...several CEOs who have recently faced the wrath of their
communities have operated with the arrogance and lack of accountability
that has turned a touchy situation into a powder keg...In growing numbers,
the public is getting fed up with the lack of information and loss of
hospital services." Natalie Mehra
"Imagine that: the communities who finance the hospitals
through their taxes and donations, wanting to know how their dollars are
spent, and wishing a direct voice in how their hospitals are run. Mr.
Smitherman should make governance of the provinces' hospitals a
priority." John Balatinecz
"Once again Ontario hospitals are contemplating service cuts
in order to balance budgets, and once again community groups are rightly
opposing them...When the Wellesley [Hospital] created a neighbourhood
relations committee, community advisory panels and governance positions
for community activists, it not only improved its responsiveness to
community needs but also erased its financial deficits." Jeff Denis
Here the Board of the RVHS, which is facing financial difficulties, has
restricted nominations to vacant Board positions to candidates approved by
themselves and have increasingly used 'in camera' sessions in Board
meetings.
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Star Calls on Province To Change Board Election Method
Hospital Boards need a transfusion according to an
editorial piece appearing in Saturday's Toronto Star (June 2).
Calling for a legislative change so some residents who
are not hand-picked by the current Board can be elected, editorial editor
Bob Hepburn echoed similar calls the Friends are making.
"A Board can not be truly effective when it loses
the confidence of the community it is supposed to serve", Hepburn
writes. "And that, sadly, is exactly what is happening in Ajax."
See the article at the Star
site.
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Call to Ontario Politicians to Legislate
More Accountability of Hospital Boards
June 6
In a letter to today's the Star,
Lai Chu, Co-Chair of the newly-formed Ontario Alliance for Accountability
of Hospital Boards, called on hospital Boards in the province to recognize
they represent the people of Ontario & not the Government of Ontario.
Politicians also need
to be reminded that "it is their responsibility to update legislation
to make hospital governance accountable to and representative of the
people", Chu states.
Citing
greater accountability rules for public and private corporations, Chu also
pinpoints the stress, illness and waste hospital professionals
sometimes face as they deal with despotic and insensitive administrators
as well as their acquiescent boards. Star
article
The
O.A.A.H.B. was formed on May 14 representatives of citizen organizations from
five widely-dispersed hospital boards in Southern Ontario. The Friends
were founding members.
Speaking at that time, Bill Parish, co-chair
of the Friends, stated that it's "clear that citizens in many
regions of Ontario face similar situations. We hope there will eventually be 156 such groups
covering every hospital board in the province".
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Ombudsman Calls For More Hospital
Accountability
"Right now we have zero oversight of
hospitals" according to Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin.
Speaking to the Toronto Star recently,
Marin stated "The fact that there is no oversight in an area that
takes a huge amount of public funds is shocking to me...Ontario is the
poor cousin in Canada."
"Giving the Ombudsman's office power
to act as independent investigation is all about accountability. If an
institution is getting public funds to perform a public duty, they
should be subject to checks and balances", the report quotes.
The Friends agree. Hospitals should be
accountable in all aspects of their activities- patient care and
governance. Public institutions, like school boards, which also
spend large amounts of tax money, are elected by a wide electorate.
Therefore, they can be held accountable to the taxpayer for their actions.
This organization has raised questions
about R.V.H.S. governance. Increasing use of 'in camera' sessions at
Board meetings, limits placed on who can be nominated for Board
positions and prohibitions against participation of community
organizations are but three of several concerning local trends. These
moves restricting accountability and openness can undermine local
support for the system in the long term the group fears.
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Meeting with Board Reps 'Disappointing'
Governance Issues Remain Unresolved
A Friends committee met recently with
R.V.H.S.
representatives Janet Ecker and Ed Fleury to discuss concerns
raised about the lack of openness at Board meetings. The citizen's group
has been critical of an increasing use of 'in camera ' sessions at Board
meetings. A frank discussion of issues
was held but no agreement was reached. Committee members
feel 'disappointed' that their concerns were not adequately addressed.
The Friends were represented by
Yvonne
Bosch, Bill Parish, Morgan Diver, Pentti Lassila, Walter Donaldson,
and Angelo Dielemente.
In a follow-up letter of May 15, Ecker,chair of the Hospital Board Governance
Committee, continues to support 'in camera' meetings and a
nomination process restricted to those approved by a Board
Committee.
"We respect your perspective but we do not
share it', Ecker stated.
The full text of the Friends
presentation can be found here
text
To
see the perceptions of the parties to the meeting go here.
To see Ecker's letter of May 15, go here.
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