Defending
Public Health and Seniors' Care
 
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) has
been carrying out its Health Matters campaign for over a year. The HSAA
campaign highlights the experience and knowledge of its members who
along with other public sector workers are the front line of defending
public health care and other social programs and people's right to have
such programs in a modern society. Health sciences members work in the
labs, in diagnostic imaging, in emergency medicine, in therapy, in
addictions and many other professions.
HSAA also carried out a campaign to increase the number
of
ambulances and paramedics in 2018 which resulted in increased
funding for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). At that time, HSAA
pointed out that while the number of EMS calls had increased by
nearly 20 per cent since 2010, the number of paramedics was up by
only 3.4 per cent.
"As experts, we know health-care cuts will cause immense
damage. The risk to health care -- and to Albertans -- is too
great for us to stay silent. As your trusted health-care experts,
we felt we had to speak out. Alberta needs to invest in a
health-care system that's already stretched, not cut it," HSAA
says.
"Alberta needs to stop the increased privatization of
care so
that every dollar is spent on patients, not diverted to boost
profits for large corporations. No one needing health care should
have to worry about whether or not they can afford care."
HSAA urges everyone to make health care an election
issue.
 The Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees issued a press release on March 27, responding to
the NDP government's announcement that it would create 2,000 long-term
care beds throughout the province if elected.
"While more long-term care beds are sorely needed in
Alberta,
they can't continue to be funded by taxpayer dollars and
delivered by private, for-profit providers more focused on
revenues than providing quality care," said AUPE Vice-President
Susan Slade.
"The NDP knows public long-term care spaces provide the
best
care possible to seniors and residents. That's why in its 2015
election platform, it promised to create 2,000 public long-term
care beds over four years. "The party also called out the former
PC government for its ‘costly experiments in privatization'
and called for funds to be redirected to publicly delivered
services in that same platform.
"Unfortunately, the private long-term care experiments
have
continued since 2015 and today we're seeing ‘public'
completely removed from the NDP's 2,000 long-term care beds
promise," said Slade. AUPE called on all political parties to
support and invest in publicly funded and delivered health
care.
The demands of the health care workers are just.
Increase
Funding for Health, Seniors' Care and Social Programs!
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number
13 - April 13, 2019
Article Link:
Health
Care
Unions
Speak
Out
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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