A provincial group fighting against health care privatization is holding a virtual town hall meeting in Chatham-Kent to protest the Ford government’s plan to utilize private, for-profit clinics to ease surgical backlogs in Ontario.
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) will hold the virtual meeting for Chatham-Kent on February 15 at 7 p.m.
Several other virtual town halls are scheduled throughout February in several other communities, including London and Sarnia-Lambton.
“Building and expanding private clinics and hospitals serve no purpose other than to carve and dismantle our hospitals and sell them off to corporations,” the OHC said in a news release. “What we need now is action to address the hospital crisis and a plan to recruit and retain vital health professionals in our public hospitals, not further privatization.”
In January, Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced a plan that will allow public health services such as surgeries and MRI and CT scans to be conducted at for-profit facilities. According to the province, the three-step plan would help alleviate the surgical backlog in Ontario that was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ford government has maintained that the plan would be covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and Ontarians would not have to pay for surgical procedures out of pocket.
Those interested in taking part in the upcoming town hall meeting can register online by clicking here.
