The Ontario government announced they’re expanding the number of procedures being done in for-profit clinics in an effort to address the surgical backlog in the province.
The first step of their three-phase plan will see surgical and diagnostic clinics in Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Windsor perform an additional 14,000 cataract operations each year, representing about 25 per cent of the province’s current wait list.
Soon, private clinics would take on more MRI and CT imaging, as well as colonoscopies and endoscopies. By 2024, the province aims to have the clinics perform hip and knee replacements
Critics argue the move is the first step in the Ford government’s efforts to privatize healthcare and question what will keep healthcare workers from leaving the public sector in favour of private clinics.
Ford and Minister Jones failed to address those questions, as well as whether there would be policies to stop for-profit clinics from upselling patients on procedures.