Tsunami Bomb in Ontario Health

Whitby protestDesperate times call for desperate measures.

In WWII, Professor Thomas Leech worked on a new weapon: a tsunami bomb, an explosion designed to cause a natural disaster.

Experts gave up on it in 1945. Premier Wynne may have succeeded with Ontario healthcare.

Tsunami Bomb

A Tsunami bomb is an explosive charge that starts a wave big enough to kill a few hundred thousand people. It crushes the enemy with disregard for citizen casualties.

Premier Wynne unilaterally legislated cuts to spending on medical services, despite patients waiting up to 2 years for some services (e.g. joint replacement).

She made cuts for 2014 and 2015, last spring.

She cut again in Oct 2015, and has promised to make even more cuts at year end.

Her cuts come after the Liberals made a 5% unilateral cut in spring 2012.

Doctors ‘did their part’ by agreeing to a 0.5% cut per year for 2 years starting in 2012.

Wynne kept the 0.5% annual cut ongoing on top of all her other cuts.

Some experts believe that nuclear explosions could create Professor Leach’s disaster. Tsunamis cannot be stopped. They result from deep imbalance in powerful structures in the earth. All we can do is clean up the mess.

In Windsor, a protest formed over funding cuts.

An 11,000 member Facebook group popped up over a few days in October to protest cuts to care. They have a website now.

Spontaneous groups of doctors come together to protest at by-elections, like this one in Whitby:

Whitby protest

 

At some point, Premier Wynne will try to come back, to fix her healthcare mess. She needs peace in her 3rd year to woo voters back in time for re-election. By then, healthcare will look like a tsunami clean-up. It will be too late.

photocredit: www.carenotcuts.ca

14 thoughts on “Tsunami Bomb in Ontario Health”

  1. And yet some physicians in private practice continue to perform services for the Ontario Government including, but not limited to, OHIP. Query why these physicians continue to perform services for the Government rather than refusing to perform services for the Government. To illustrate, OHIP continues to retain specialists as experts for OHIP in legal proceedings at the Health Services Appeal and Review Board.

    1. Great point Perry….becoming hard enough for pt to receive certain treatments and have OHIP fund. Instead OHIP uses these docs to defend them against payment. As you’ve said publically, OHIP always denies claim and forces lawyer intervention. Meanwhile patient, if they have the means, go out of Canada to have treatments at their costs. This is Ontario healthcare at its worst,directed by Wynne and Hoskins forcing pt to suffer, go OOC, suffer financially, go to court to get treatment in Canada or payment for their costs of going Out of country. Doctors, reflect on what you are enabling the next time OHIP uses you to attack sick Ontario patients

      1. Don, I love your phrase: “Doctors, reflect on what you are enabling…”

        Exactly! Well said, indeed. All of us in Ontario – but most especially doctors – play a role in enabling the current system. As long as we tolerate out of country care as the unseen executive plan for healthcare, we will never change.

        I sure appreciate you taking time to read and comment!

        Best

        Shawn

      2. yes and what do you think happens to those who cannot get needed healthcare out of country? I can tell you. I am a nurse, I was also in that position with many others. It is a pretty horrific situation we all are still in, Poor people, unemployed do not get healthcare anymore. I was not a poor person, not getting healthcare drove me into poverty, I could not work, could not get healthcare. without healthcare could not work, vicious cycle.

        1. Thanks for taking time to share this, k.

          I’ve heard this from others, too. I can picture one mom who drove her son to Buffalo for 2 years for therapy not available in Canada. I know another patient battling Lymme’s disease at his/her own expense. Both of these people were lower middle class.

          I hope you find health, happiness and love. It kills me to hear stories like this…

          Be well,

          Shawn

    2. Great comment, Perry.

      Even after all we’ve been through, we still hear from MDs who say their colleagues are babies and should be quiet. On top of that, many docs believe in a big state. They WANT higher taxes, more state services, and more control. They will never be satisfied with socialism. They have bigger dreams. Like Marx believed, socialism was but a short interlude on the journey towards utopia.

      Thanks for taking time to comment!

      Shawn

  2. You have hit the nail on the head once again, Shawn. The fall out from the government actions has started. It has to get worse. Your astute observation that this government will try to make nice later in their term may be correct but there will be many years of patient suffering before things turn around. It must have been draining for the prophetess Cassandra to repeatedly say, “I told you so.”

    1. Well said, Gerry. For some reason, people have an unbelievably short memory when it comes to government bungling. As long as they get bread and circuses, people would rather believe fear-mongering about change, than to rise up to an bumbling government.

      Thanks for taking time to share a comment!

      Best

      Shawn

  3. Shawn, after reading your post, I sat back and thought to myself a tsunami being an explosion to cause instant devastation was the wrong terminology to use in describing the Ontario Government and health care. I would be inclined to compare this government’s lack of transparency and cutbacks to an epidemic disease which slowly deteriorates and destroys life. The continued cutbacks while at the same time demanding more for less is not exclusive to health care. The auto insurance which consumers are mandated to purchase, now have a mandatory deductible for pain and suffering of $36,540 if in fact you decide to follow through with a lawsuit. Unfortunately, the “sheeple” of Ontario continue to allow this wonderful government erode what our ancestors worked hard to achieve, only to be dictated by the “puppeteers” of Wynne. As a side note, anyone considering a medical career really needs to re-evaluate their choice when a Firefighter without the massive debt load earns $100K + with a 2 day work week.
    “Ain’t life grand” (@Questionable_news)

    1. Brilliant comments, Scott!

      I love your analogy of an epidemic disease. When I considered an analogy for this post, I started searching for man-made natural disasters. I stumbled upon the tsunami bomb and couldn’t resist using it.

      My brother-in-law is a firefighter. You are right. I’d encourage my children to pursue that ANY day over medicine.

      Thanks so much for reading, commenting and staying active on Twitter! 😉

      Best regards,

      Shawn

  4. I lay the blame for this government’s re-election to the bungling election campaign of the opposition party. If ever a government should be been turfed after breaking promises and scandals, it was the last two in Ontario. Unfortunately many voters just felt that the current government was just the least of evils and they just had no choice but to park their vote with them until a better choice came up for them.

      1. You are correct. Governments are usually kicked out. The Ontario government was definitely on the way to being kicked out in the last two elections. The party that was going to win gave it away twice. Now the incumbent government feels immune to being held responsible for their failed and failing policies. Eventually, like all governments, they will be booted out but sadly not before having been handed the opportunity to inflict terrible damage to the health care of Ontarians.

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