Latest investment in private health care in P.E.I. raising concerns
Some worry profits for long-term care facilities will eat into money for patients
The P.E.I. government's decision to invest $25 million into for-profit long-term care facilities is raising concerns about the further privatization of the health-care system.
Currently, there is a mix of private and public long-term care facilities on P.E.I. The province said it needed to add 54 new long-term care beds as soon as possible, and the private sector could get the job done faster.
Pat Armstrong, a member of the Canadian Health Coalition who has written cautionary books on the privatization of health care, said the province should have invested in the public beds rather than turning to the private sector.
"Their objective is to make a profit and the money going to profit is not going to care," Armstrong said.
Three years ago, an internal government report on long-term care found private homes paid workers less and provided fewer care options than public manors.
The same report said P.E.I. needed hundreds more long-term care beds.
Other examples of the privatization of health care include:
- The Maple app, owned in part by Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart.
- Private agency nurses.
- There's a proposal in the works for a private clinic to address chronic delays with cataract surgery in P.E.I.
NDP Leader Michelle Neill is also raising concerns about the increasing reliance on private, for-profit health care in P.E.I.
"We want to make sure that any kind of expansion goes through the public health-care system and the public long-term care system," she said. "That way there's full accountability for all of those funds."
CBC News reached out to the Department of Health and Wellness but did not receive any information in response.
Health P.E.I., the provincial health authority, did respond to a request for comment, explaining that while measures like hiring agency nurses "come at a higher cost, it's a necessary measure to ensure we can continue delivering quality care in the short term."
In the long term, Health P.E.I. said, "it is crucial to maintain publicly funded services that are high quality, accessible, and provide value for money."
Author says distinction matters
But publicly funded services can be provided within public or privately owned facilities, and the statement didn't specify whether either option is preferable to the health authority.
Armstrong said the distinction matters.
"If [private care homes] are no longer making a profit, then it makes sense for them to close down, especially if ... they are on valuable property that would be attractive to other investors."
Armstrong will be speaking at a lecture April 23 at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown titled Profiting from Care; What's the Problem. It is hosted by the P.E.I. Health Coalition.
With files from Kerry Campbell