In the fall of 2021, as Ontario hospitals face a new, severe wave of COVID-19, theFord governmentquietly was giving instructions to the health of - Watch out for bureaucrats to tighten their belts.
In a letter obtained by Global News, the government's then-Health Minister Christine Elliott advisedOntario Health — the government agency responsible for health care administration in Ontario — to I instructed them to find "efficiency". and savings” system.
READ MORE: Ontario health minister does not rule out privatization as an option to help ER crisis
Mandate The letter, signed by Elliott and sent on October 1, 2021, sets out the government's expectations for agencies in 2022-2023.
“As part of the Ontario government, the agency is expected to be efficient and effective, and to act in the best interest of the people of Ontario by providing compensation to taxpayers. It has been done,” Elliot's letter said.
The story continues below the advertisement
The letter then tells Ontario Health to "pursue opportunities for innovative practice," Directing “to identify and pursue efficiencies and savings that take for granted” to COVID-19, where applicable.
Less than two months later, Omicron was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health OrganizationandPremier Dag. It sparked a new promise from Ford about fighting the latest wave of COVID-19.
"Throughout this entire pandemic, we've never faced an enemy like Omicron, given how quickly it spreads," he said. News said in his release.
The government then began to limit who was eligible for PCR testing, resulting in significant savings for the province, in line with directives given to the Ontario Department of Health.
READ MORE: Ontario unlikely to return to widespread COVID-19 PCR testing, health minister says
"I couldn't believe it," said NDP health commentator France Gelinas. “There was a prime minister who stood up [in parliament] every day and said, 'We will spare no expense.' And we see mandates that say basically no money will be spent if it is not necessary.”[52] }
In a sit-down interview with Global News, Ontario Health's CEO said the bureaucracy is not going to save government money. said it was successful. He walked away from some pandemic policies, especially "money spent on testing."
The story continues under the ad
"The government has shifted its focus to rapid testing rather than PCR testing... Ontario Health said he We run the network,” said Anderson.
"These are savings passed on to the government because we are no longer using that piece of infrastructure."
As another example, Anderson said during the pandemic, It provides an example of multiple government-funded surgical referral systems across the state, which reduced wait times for surgical procedures,
over time into a single referral system. I really hope that it converges,” said Anderson. “These things are likely going to be one, which could reduce costs.”
Anderson said Global News Ontario Health's goal is "efficiency." We have returned more than a billion dollars in savings."
The story continues under the ad
"In the end, how the government will use the identified funds is our hope and belief." Invest it in other parts of the health care system," Anderson said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said the Global News integration "redirects about $400 million each year into frontline patient care that previous governments were wasting on duplicate advice and bureaucracy." said.
"The Ontario Department of Health will ensure that this funding is used in ways that maximize the benefits to patient care, including finding efficiencies in large and complex systems where appropriate. We have an obligation to do so," the spokesperson said.
READ MORE: 'Sorry' — Ontario hospital closes ER again due to lack of staff
The agency's 2022-23 annual business plan includes examples of other efficiencies the agency plans to pursue.
Ontario Health's 2022-23 plan states, "When the contract ends or an opportunity arises to optimize services, increase and streamline and integrate services.”
Another explained that agencies will seek "further integration" in the pursuit of efficiency.
It also states that the agency will "evaluate digital and virtual solutions, programs and services to identify opportunities, innovative models and promising practices for improvement, expansion and diffusion." .
Story Continues Below Ads
Read More: ER Longer Latency A plague of high nurse vacancies some Toronto hospitals
A savings and efficiency mandate was issued as we discovered we had cut back.
The Ford government disputes the figure, saying it doesn't tell the whole story.
But Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalby, who was repeatedly pressured by Global News in a press briefing, refused to say the health care budget had been spent in the past year.
And, as state hospitals continue to be understaffed, opposition parties are ignoring orders to cut costs.
"We are in the middle of a pandemic and they say find efficiency, find savings," Gelinas said. "When we were still counting deaths in long-term care, it was a low priority for the pandemic."
Ontario Health was awarded Cancer Care Ontario, Health Quality Ontario, and was established as a Crown Super Agency to bring together various public health agencies, including the state's 13 Local Health Integration Networks.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
