Now I won't link the P3 crap to quality of clinical care, WOHC gives no assurance that they aren't an incompetant, dismissive and pathetic organization.
---
From the Toronto Star (I have only posted part of the article):
Community rails at new hospital
Death of Punjabi supporter of Brampton Civic galvanizes opposition to public-private facility
Dec 05, 2007 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
Open barely a month, Brampton Civic Hospital has become a lightning rod for opposition to so-called P3 projects, following a death the local Punjabi community is blaming on understaffing.
Controversy over the public-private partnership that built the $550 million facility has reached such a pitch that officials called a meeting last night with community leaders and media to air concerns.
Both sides in the fracas – the province, developer and hospital on one side, and the unions, NDP and the Ontario Health Coalition on the other – accuse the other of misleading the public.
Patients are complaining of agonizing waits as the state-of-the-art facility struggles to cope with unfilled positions and a 20 per cent rise in emergency demand compared with the hospital it replaced, Peel Memorial. Added to that is resentment about the $230 million the community was expected to contribute as its share, nearly half of which is still to be raised.
The issue came to a boil when Brampton's large Punjabi community, which had raised millions for the hospital, heard of the death of 52-year-old Harnek Sidhu. [He died in hospital, and waited hours in the ER to even been seen by a doctor. Mentioned earlier in this thread]
....
CEO Robert Richards is dismayed by the family's angry stance and the furor that subsequently erupted in the Punjabi media and Brampton Guardian, with other upset patients relating horror stories. He blames "organized elements" for whipping up a P3 controversy with rumours and misinformation.
"There are absolutely no linkages between who finances a hospital and what goes on within its walls. It's absolute nonsense," said Richards. "The big benefit is it gets hospitals up and running faster. ... It's never been a secret, the model under which this hospital was built. "
....
Richards acknowledged the hospital is short staffed. Part of the problem is that the province has not yet set the operating budget.
"Could we do a hell of a lot better with a fulsome budget? Absolutely," Richards said.
Added chief of staff Dr. Ian Smith: "Don't confuse the quality of clinical care with the speed with which it's delivered."
Hundreds of people are expected to rally in protest at the hospital on Sunday. Richards said he is "very concerned" about the rally, particularly since there are rumours that demonstrators "will fake heart attacks or strokes to create incidents. That is reckless endangerment."
While both sides thrashed it out in public, the Sidhu family quietly cremated their father. They are consulting a lawyer on whether to proceed with a lawsuit.
---
Added chief of staff Dr. Ian Smith: "Don't confuse the quality of clinical care with the speed with which it's delivered."
Wow.