HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-12-13, Page 8COMMEMORATE THE NEWEST
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PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1995.
Wingham Hospital Bd. waits to learn effect of cuts
By Margaret Stapleton
Members of the board of
governors of Wingham and District
Hospital will have to wait until
January to find out what effect
recently-announced provincial
government cuts will have on the
local hospital.
Hospital Executive Director
Lloyd Koch said the provincial
government has proposed cuts to
hospital funding of five, six and
eight per cent over three years in its
economic statement delivered Nov.
29. However, the cuts may not be
"right across the board", noted
Koch, with rural hospitals not hit as
hard as those in larger centres.
Until the Ministry of Health
releases its information on funding
in January, the full impact to
Wingham hospital will not be
known, added Koch.
The good news came in the form
of "an early Christmas present", in
the words of Noreen Gnay, hospital
board chairman. The province has
agreed to implement a portion of
the Scott Report aimed to provide
funding for emergency room
coverage. Wingham and District
Hospital is one of 67 small
hospitals to which this applies and
represents "good news", according
to Koch.
Under the proposal, it has been
announced that the province will
provide funding of $70 per hour to
doctors covering rural emergency
departments at night, on weekends
and holidays. The exact way it will
be paid is not yet known. The
executive director also said he has a
copy of the provincial govern-
ment's "Omnibus Bill" put before
the House late last month. In his
report, Koch writes, "Many of the
measures in the Bill are described
as draconian and allow the Minister
at the stroke of a pen to wipe out
the existence of hospitals and
remove the right of the OMA
(Ontario Medical Association) to
bargain on behalf of doctors as well
as many other items."
Later in the evening, the tough
choices the board may be faced
with in the coming months became
evident during discussion on an
executive committee recommenda-
tion to pay shift deferential to non-
unionized hospital workers for
weekends, call-back and standby.
George Underwood, reporting for
the executive committee, said it
would cost the hospital an
estimated $34,000 a year, but
would only be awarded if funds
were available.
Koch called it a "pay-parity
issue". The Wingham hospital
always has had a policy of paying
Hullett makes revision
in correcting a zoning application
for consent, Hullett council made a
revision to the information on Lot
26, Cone. 6, at the Dec. 4 meeting.
The property concerned, 3.03
acres, would be zoned AG-4 Spe-
cial Provisions, no livestock and
the remainder would be zoned AG-
1.
Council will hold an on-site
meeting regarding Pollard Dainage
Works main drain, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.
the municipal office.
Road Superintendent James
Johnston will advertise in local
papers, the policies regarding the
parking of vehicles, pushing and
blowing snow during the winter
months.
The road and general accounts
were approved for payment in the
amounts of $ 111,040.42 and
$56,474.95, respectively.
non-unionized employees on a
scale comparable to those under a
union contract. "This will bring us
back to where we were before the
Social Contract."
Board member Bob Pike spoke
out against the proposal saying
"We're (the hospital) facing cuts of
a million, three."
"We won't know that until
January," replied Koch, ''and we'll
prepare a budget with that in mind .
. . We're attempting to bring some
justice. This is nothing in excess of
otherhonitals."
Pike remained unswerved by the
argument. "We're sending a mess-
age that we just don't 'get it' in light
of what's coming down," he said.
"We have to be fair," said Doug
Fortune. "There's lots of unions out
there that they (non-unionized
hospital employees) can join under
a central agreement and that could
be a lot more costly to us."
"But we have to cut a million,
three," said Pike.
"This is a big stick they (non-
unionized workers) have," replied
Fortune. "We have to be fair."
Dr. Brian Hanlon said the
proposal is contingent on whether
or not the funds are available. If
they are not, it will not be granted
and the board will not know that
until January.
When Fortune asked Koch if he
knew that provincial funding would
be cut by $1.3 million, he replied,
"No. Cuts to the hospital sector'are
to be five per cent (in 1996). But
it's not across the board, small
hospitals may not be hit as much."
Don Carter also spoke against the
proposal, saying that implementing
it in 1996 would be setting a
precedent. "We can't implement it
in '96, then take it away in '97," he
said, comparing it to "dangling a
carrot" in front of employees.
Pike suggested that the board
wait to vote on the issue until the
board knows what its position is as
far as funding is concerned.
However, he did not suggest that as
an amendment to the motion and
when the vote was called by the
chairman, it was carried.
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