Village Squire, 1975-01, Page 15the original intent of the re -organization plan.
We must also deal with another very
important part of the District Health Council
and that is; it is directed to form an Area
Health Services Management Board which
will be discussed in the next item.
The third segment then involved in the
Mustard Report is the Area Health Services
Management Board. This is a very powerful
body which will operate either one or a
number of institutions depending on the size
and the population. The Area Health Services
Management Board will replace all existing
hospital boards and may have representation
from the existing hospital boards but does not
have to. It again is appointed through the
Minister's office. The Area Health Services
Management Board not only will oPerate the
hospitals in the area, but will also decide on
the number of physicians present in the area
and surveillance on the quota system for
physicians within the area. This is something
that we must think of also, that there will be a
quota system for physicians for our area as
with all areas; that the number will be preset
on a population basis as yet to be determined;
that we may face a reduction of physicians on
a population base, because although we are
large in area, we are small in population
numbers. A physician may not come into an
area to practice unless there is a vacancy in
the quota system for the area. If he decides to
come into the area and practice regardless of
the openings, he will not be supported by
O.H.I.P., and this is stated clearly in the
Mustard Report. "No O.H.I.P. payments for
a physician who practices outside of the quota
system and where there is no vacancy
available in the area."
Another important implication of the Area
Health Services Management Board is in
regard to our hospitals. The Minister of
Health, at a meting of the Ontario Hospital
Association in Sault Ste. Marie in September
of 1974, stated that the optimum size for a
hospital to operate efficiently was 300 beds,
and that we should aim for this figure. This,
of course, has great importance to Huron
County where we have five municipal
hospitals with a total of a little over 400 beds
and concluding from the Minister's remarks,
we would have to say that in Huron County,
we would be left with one 300 bed hospital at
the most. From this, we see that the five
municipal hospitals are going to have to
reduce in number, and the implication is that
some of these hospitals will indeed be closed.
Another sad thing about the hospitals is the
dissolution'of the hospital boards. Over the
years, hospital board members have been a
dedicated and interested group, have given
many hours of service to the community
hospitals to develop them and make them .a
great service to our community. It has even
been noted that over the years many of the
community hospitals have been endowed
from former voluntary hospital board
members. Indeed, some of the larger city
hospitals have had generous endowments
from former board members. Again, this
voluntary effort has not only built our
hospitals and made them what they are today
but in some cases, it even led to financial
support through endowment after death. This
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14, VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1975
i
appears to be totally forgotten, and this will
certainly pass if the Mustard Report is
implemented.
Now in speaking to many groups recently
and trying to give them some idea, some
understanding of the Mustard Report,
something that they can so -to -speak, "pin
down" in their own mind, I have come up
with a number of dangers in the Mustard
Report that will be actualities if the Mustard
Report is implemented. The dangers can be
divided into:
• 1. Consumer Dangers
• 2. Hospital Dangers
03. Professional Danger's
04. Political Dangers
CONSUMER DANGERS
The consumer overall will have a
low -quality health care system. The implica-
tions of the Mustard Report would indicate
there will be fewer doctors for the areas,
there will be fewer hospitals for the areas,
there will be distance to travel to medical care
and the type of health care that you receive
will be determined by an intermediary person
of non-professional standing. Consumer
dangers also must include the tremendous
increase in costs; the obvious costs being the
cost of building Community Health Centres,
the cost of developing a free transportation
system to the Community Health Centres, the
cost of operating the tremendous committee
structure with 4,800 volunteers and 200
additional civil service positions. There is no
doubt ttfat the taxpayer will suffer, that there
will indeed be a tremendous increase in the
cost of the new health care delivery system as
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