Doctor deal referendum on OMA leadership

   Dr. David Jacobs, Special to the Toronto Sun

For over a decade, I have worked as a radiologist in both Toronto and northern Ontario hospitals.

In the under-serviced north, I work seven-day shifts with as little as five-hours sleep overnight. I interpret your ultrasounds, CT scans and MRIs to diagnose cancers, ruptured aortic aneurysms and strokes. I also biopsy your tumours, drain your lungs, and cure your abscesses through pinholes, often without even using a scalpel. I see a tremendous volume of patients. The cancer and acutely ill patients continue to seek help. My wait-lists continue to grow.

For the last several years, the Liberal government of Ontario has been at war with physicians and the fallout has been significant. Clinics and labs are closing under financial stress. MRI and CT scan hours of operation are being reduced, sending wait-times through the roof. Hours for endoscopy and surgery are being cut while patients wait and surgeons remain underemployed. Patients die from curable cancers while waiting for stem cell transplants.

So how does this relate to the current deal on the table between the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Ontario Liberal government? The deal is not so much a negotiation as it is a surrender. Under the proposed agreement, previous cuts as deep as 15% will be enshrined, new cuts of $200,000,000 will be imposed, hard caps will remain, and there will be less money coming into the system then what it needs for conservative estimates of growth.

For doctors, this will mean four more years of uncertainty, and for patients, this will mean even longer wait-times and less access to the care they need.

For the membership of the OMA, this is not just a referendum on a contract, it is a referendum on its leadership. As a member of the Negotiations Advisory Committee, I have been witness to gross breaches of process. The leadership committed to achieve binding arbitration prior to a return to negotiations. This promise was set aside. The advisory committee that I sit on had no meaningful input. In fact, we were informed of the deal just hours before it was presented to the OMA board.

Prior to being presented with a finished deal, when I asked about the status of negotiations, I was told that there were no ongoing talks. My last query came after bumping into the Ministry of Health’s negotiations team at the OMA offices. It was as if the American tanks were rolling by in the background as the Iraqi minister of information declared that there were no Americans in Baghdad.

Much of the language in the document is vague, referring to future committees with promises of consultation. This will include cuts to physician numbers and medical school spots. Given my experience on the Negotiations Advisory Committee, I have healthy skepticism about the degree of input anyone will have outside of the backrooms of the OMA.

We as an association have to decide: Do we want a culture of openness and accountability, or do we want a politically-charged culture where deals are made behind closed doors?

I vote for a new way of doing business. I vote for better patient access and timely care. I vote no.

Join us in protest July 22, 1 p.m. at the Ministry of Health, 80 Grosvenor St. Join us for a better way. More info is available at www.carenotcuts.ca.