Ontario Health Coalition on 'fear mongering tour' claims Orazietti

NEWS RELEASE

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

*****************************
Misinformed Health Coalition on 15-city fear mongering tour

Province invests an additional $1.1 billion in health care this year for a 65 percent funding increase since 2003

SAULT STE. MARIE - The Ontario Health Coalition is once again intentionally misleading Ontarians by making false claims about the province’s investments in health care, which have increased 65.7 percent or $19.2 billion since 2003, including a $1.1 billion increase this year.

The truth about the province’s unwavering commitment to continuing to improve health care services in Sault Ste. Marie is evident throughout the community, where unprecedented investments are providing greater access to family physicians, nurse practitioners and primary care services, David Orazietti, MPP announced today.

“Our government has shown its unwavering commitment to improving health care services in Sault Ste. Marie and we will not let the Ontario Health Coalition’s stunts distract us from our tireless work to ensure every resident in our community has a doctor or nurse practitioner,” said Orazietti. “Our plan is focused on protecting the important and significant progress we have made in health care since 2003 while also making targeted investments in areas such as in home care, which is receiving a $526 million increase under the 2012 provincial budget as well as more funding for the creation of over 900 more nursing positions.”

Yet Natalie Mehra of the NDP-backed Ontario Health Coalition incorrectly claimed in a recent press release that, “Ontario has endured a 20-year trend of cuts to its medical system with few real steps toward restoring services”, which is completely false given the facts contained in consecutive budgets under the provincial Liberal government .

It should also be noted that Mehra is taking every advantage to distort the truth by falsely claiming that the premier said the province is making cuts to health care.

In dramatic contrast to the actions of past provincial governments the current government has increased health care funding by 65 percent or $19.2 billion since 2003, increased medical school training spaces by 38 percent, increased nurse practitioner training spaces by 135 percent, opened the first new medical school in 30 years, more than doubled the number of training spaces for foreign trained doctors and licensed more new physicians than at any other time in Ontario's history.

Since 2003 doctor’s salaries alone have increased by 85 percent or $5.1 billion.

These investments have resulted in major local progress that includes:

• The Superior Family Health Team opened on April 1, 2011 with 3 physicians and it has added two new doctors since who have rostered 3,900 orphan patients, bringing the total roster size to 5,300 patients. The health team is accepting 2,000 more local patients over the next year and they continue to accept patients through Health Care Connect.
• The Algoma Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic has registered nearly 1000 patients since opening in October 2011 and will continue to increase their roster of patients throughout the next year.
• The Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee has recruited 71 physicians since the inception of the program in 2002, 48 of which were recruited in the last five years and include 31 specialist doctors and 17 family physicians.

In addition, in order to attract more physicians to the North, the province created the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative (NRRRI) and the Postgraduate Return of Service Program, which are already responsible for attracting several more physicians to Sault Ste. Marie.

Ontario is also the first province to invest in Nurse Practitioner-led Clinics and the province has created important programs, such as Health Care Connect, to accelerate the process of finding a family doctor.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is helping deliver more health care professionals to the community while also having the added benefit of providing the opportunity for medical students from Sault Ste. Marie to return home and work in the community; over the past twelve months 70 medical learners have spent time in the Sault being trained by our local physicians, nine of which are originally from the community.

*****************************