Ford government to expand surgeries performed in private clinics: source

Ontario will begin performing thousands more surgeries in private facilities in an effort to deal with a huge backlog of procedures, according to a senior provincial government source.

The source confirms the province announce next that it will expand independent health facilities’ capacities in its first phase of surgical healthcare reform. Meanwhile, opposition critics are concerned the move is a step towards a two-tiered system.

“As a first step to immediately shorten wait times, the government is expanding surgeries and procedures at existing community clinics using their existing personnel, ensuring no impact on the broader system,”  the source tells CityNews.

“As the government expands the role of community-based clinics to further shorten wait times for Ontarians, specific measures will be in place to protect staffing and stability in hospitals.”

I'm told the clinics will use their existing personnel to ensuring no impact on the broader system. Incoming NDP leader Marit Stiles says its an "Attempt to privatize public health care"

— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) January 13, 2023

They say the first phase will focus on expansion of cataract surgeries followed by a second phase that expands into low complex orthopedic surgeries like knee and hip replacements.

Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week they need those facilities to help address the growing backlog and that patients will not have to pay out of pocket for them. The government source also says there will be measures in place to protect hospital staffing.

The opposition is accusing the Ford government of trying to privatize the system and misleading Ontarians. The NDP accuse the government of falsely claiming that pouring money into for-profit clinics won’t have an impact on the system as a whole.

“This government has done almost everything that it could to starve the public system of funding,” says incoming NDP leader Marit Stiles. “They’ve really brought our healthcare system to the brink of collapse.”

Stiles says she is concerned further private-sector involvement will lead to more payments for services coming out of Ontarians credit cards, and not out of OHIP. She also expressed worry of health-care workers being pulled away from the public system despite the government’s promise to protect staffing.

“We know that the health-care crisis in our system is really a staffing crisis,” she says. “My greatest fear is that this is going to pull more and more of these workers out of our hospitals.”

Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced last summer the government’s intention to perform some surgeries outside of the hospital system. Both Ford and Jones have remained steadfast that Ontarians will not have to foot the bill despite increased private-sector involvement.

With files from CityNews reporter Richard Southern and The Canadian Press