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OTTAWA, Ont. – The potential of thousands of patients having health care services withdrawn by the Champlain Central Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) in eastern Ontario is coming closer to reality.
“We are extremely concerned about the impact these cuts will have on patients and their families,” says Brian Madden, President of CUPE Local 503 representing 170 staff at the CCAC.
Champlain CCAC has revised its patient assessment criteria requiring patients to have much more acute conditions to qualify for publicly provided health care services. The systematic reassessment of patients is resulting in the withdrawal of services to them.
“If a reassessment resulted in services being withdrawn under the more stringent criteria, what would happen if the patient’s condition subsequently worsens? They will most likely have to be placed on a waitlist, given the management imposed financial restraints currently in place,” added Mr. Madden.
In a communication tool provided to staff by the Champlain CCAC management, there is a direction to discourage patients and their families from contacting their MPP, the LHIN which oversees distribution of health care dollars or the media and to redirect them to CCAC managers.
“Rather than providing public health care services which ought to be universally accessible, patients and their families are being left with the impression that they should seek other sources of care or to purchase services they need from private health care agencies,” concluded Mr. Madden.
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For information, contact:
Jean-Marc Bézaire, CUPE National Representative: 613-293-8163 or e-mail [email protected]
