Save Brockville Psychiatric Hospital, NUPGE urges

Union also demands a halt to further reliance on P3 hospitals in Ontario

Ottawa - The National Union of Public and General Employees is appealing to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister George Smitherman to call off plans to close the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital and further privatize operations at the Royal Ottawa Hospital.

Speaking on behalf of the union's 337,000 members acoss Canada, NUPGE president James Clancy said the proposed changes will have serious implications for psychiatric patients, their families and supporters throughout Eastern Ontario.

"We are demanding that the Ontario government not implement its plan to close the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital and proceed with a new publicly financed, owned and operated hospital for the Royal Ottawa.

The Brockville institution has been providing mental health treatment to residents of eastern Ontario since 1894.

August 30, 2004

Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
Queen's Park
Rm 281, Main Legislative Building
Toronto, ON M7A 1A4

and

The Honourable George Smitherman, M.P.P.
Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
80 Grosvenor Street, 10th Floor, Hepburn Block
Toronto, ON M7A 2C4

Dear Premier McGuinty and Minister Smitherman,

I am writing on behalf of the 337,000 members of the National Union of Public and General Employees and their families to oppose the Ontario government’s plan to close the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital as well as further privatize the Royal Ottawa Hospital.

We feel strongly that these two actions will have serious implications for psychiatric patients, their families and supporters throughout Eastern Ontario. We are demanding that the Ontario government not implement its plan to close the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital and proceed with a new publicly financed, owned and operated hospital for the Royal Ottawa.

Specifically, we demand that:

1. The Brockville Psychiatric Hospital remain open in order to:

a) Provide quality services, including an adequate number of hospital beds and community services, for the Leeds-Grenville and South Lanark communities, as well as other communities in Eastern Ontario.

b) Keep specialized services for people with mental health problems accessible. If the government’s closure plan is implemented, people in Eastern Ontario will have to go to different locations to access specialized services.

c) Prevent increased demands for outpatient and community services for people with mental health problems. The outpatient teams at the psychiatric hospital are already overwhelmed by the demand for their services and this demand will continue to increase as the hospital closes.

2. A new fully publicly owned, financed and operated hospital for the Royal Ottawa Hospital. This means that there would be no involvement of a private consortium, and all non-clinical services would be managed publicly.

3. Full disclosure of information regarding plans for the further privatization of the Royal Ottawa Hospital. This includes details of costs and project agreements. Access to agreements should be unlimited – people should be allowed to take documents home, make copies and circulate.

4. No cuts to services for psychiatric patients in the Ottawa area and Eastern Ontario. People living with mental illness should receive quality service. Public funding for hospital beds, staff support and hospital services should increase, not decrease, and community supports should be strengthened.

5. A stop to the private financing of hospitals. A continuation of publicly-owned, financed and operated hospitals. An honest commitment to promises made during elections.

We feel that these demands are in line with Ontario Liberal’s Health Plan, as outlined in the Plan for Change Platform, as well as key aspects of the Romanow Report.

The Liberal Plan for Change Health Platform stated:

An effective health care system provides access to quality care in many different settings – at your local doctor’s office, in a community hospital, in a regional health centre, in your own home or elsewhere in the community. The Harris-Eves government’s centralized approach has produced more bureaucracy, not better health care. We will ensure that services are available where you need them, when you need them (Page 7).

The Romanow Report, on the issue of Public Private Partnerships, stated:

Unfortunately, while P3s may cost governments and taxpayers less in the short term, these arrangements often cost more in the longer term (Sussex 2001). The rental costs charged to governments must be high enough to allow the private sector partner to recoup its costs and make a profit for its shareholders. The cost of borrowing is often higher for the private sector than for governments. And P3s often have higher administration costs. Critics also suggest that the quality of private for-profit run facilities can be lower than publicly run facilities and that, in some cases, these arrangements have resulted in beds being closed and staff being reduced (Pollack et al. 2001) (page 30).

We ask that you honour your commitments to public health care and quality care to patients.

Sincerely,

(original signed by)

James Clancy
National President
NUPGE