A number of doctors have requested my election speech, and others have posted parts of it on social media already. So, I though it best to put down what I said.

Doctors have a new hope for positive change. They are eager to build. It feels like we have turned a corner.

Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard this weekend!

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Thank you Mr. Chair and Members of Council.

 

It’s time for change.

 

The OMA faced an unprecedented crisis:

We’ve been heckled in the legislature,

slandered in the media,

ignored for multiple pieces of legislation,

and now, after almost 4 years, we still don’t have a contract.

This is intolerable.

 

The OMA must do 3 things to fix this. Continue reading “Whatley Election Speech”

Most doctors want to see patients, not fight government. Doctors pay dues so that their medical associations will speak for them.

Is it even possible for a medical association to tell the truth about problems inside healthcare?

Can doctors speak about problems, without fear that the government will punish doctors for doing so?

Public Relations in Medicare

Everyone in our single payer system wrestles with what to say. Hospitals, associations, unions and patient groups must choose carefully what to say about:

• Patients suffering on wait lists.
• Provincial budgets that fall short.
• System mismanagement.

One option is to only share good news, all the time. If you have something bad to say, do not say it publicly.

This is the most popular approach. Nothing panics hospital administrators more than hearing that one of their nurses or doctors has sent bad news to the media. Continue reading “Public Relations Strategy or Just Tell the Truth?”

We hire a real estate agent to help us find a house. She only gets paid when a deal closes.

Good agents try to find something we will like.

But that takes time.

Agents have to ask questions, listen to us and then test what they have heard by showing us a few houses.

Often, agents hear wrong, or we do not explain ourselves very well.

Good real estate agents spend time and money to learn how to represent our interests with confidence.

Bad agents try to close a deal as soon as possible.

The OMA is negotiating a dispute resolution process with government, right now.

Doctors want this.

We hope the dispute resolution process will be fair and reasonable. The OMA tells doctors that it is moving along well.

But as soon as the OMA and government agree to a dispute resolution process, the government will want to begin negotiations on a physician services agreement (aka contract).

Who could blame it?

An election looms.

The government finally wants to resolve labour problems with doctors. It does not want to drag negotiations into the fall, or next year.

The OMA will face immense pressure to enter negotiations as soon as they have settled a dispute resolution process. Continue reading “Doctors Need a Good Agent – OMA Negotiations”