More from Tom Closson

This is a continuation of an open letter to Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath from Ontario Hospital Association President and CEO Tom Closson. To return to the beginning of this letter, please click here.

Of particular concern was the content of the NDP advertisement in the September 30 edition of the Metro newspaper, which stated the NDP will "[stop…] outrageous hospital CEO salaries," and strengthen healthcare by "cutting emergency room wait times and capping hospital CEO salaries."

We are also concerned about statements made by you in the context of the upcoming Physician Services Agreement negotiations between the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Medical Association.

In both cases, the implication is that capping hospital CEO salaries would fund or make possible significant progress on these files.

As is clear from the facts provided above, it won't.

The "either-or" positioning promoted by your campaign with respect to the relationship between hospital executive salaries and wait times, midwifery, physicians, or other services, is both extremely misleading and unfortunate given the central role that strong, skilled hospital leaders play in making our health system work.

It's strong leadership that has been helped Ontario's hospitals manage through high occupancy rates, tight budgets and the other challenges acknowledged in your own election platform, while also having some of the best outcomes - and being the most efficient - in Canada.

In fact, if Ontario's hospitals were funded at the same level per capita as hospitals in other provinces, they would require an additional $3.5 billion in funding every year.

Given this, the "war on hospital leadership" theme that seems to be at the centre of the NDP's campaign rhetoric regarding health care is as disheartening as it is inaccurate.

Hamilton Health Sciences Centre

We are also concerned that you chose to use an unfortunate incident involving your son as an anecdote about the state of hospital care in Hamilton and Ontario, particularly since the facts of the case, as you have since acknowledged, are not as clear-cut as they were first made to appear.

The negative effects on hospital staff morale of incidents like this cannot be underestimated or understated - a point we would encourage you to consider in future.

Going forward, we would appreciate you, and your campaign team, recasting your public statements related to Ontario's hospitals and the services they provide, and their leadership, so that they reflect the facts.

Thank you for your attention to this letter.

As you know, the OHA has long enjoyed a strong, productive relationship with the NDP, sharing as we do an interest in making Ontario's hospitals and health care system even better for patients and their families.

Sincerely,

Tom Closson President and CEO Ontario Hospital Association