Ontario: To end long waiting lists in hospitals, Ontario has passed a health-reform bill that would allow private clinics to perform certain publicly funded surgeries and other procedures.
Along with the expansion of cataract surgeries and diagnostic imaging and testing, the government wants to come up with a brand new system for hip and knee replacement surgeries. There are currently around 900 private clinics across the province, and most of them perform diagnostic imaging and testing.
The government actually wants to cut the waiting time for treatment and eliminate the backlog of surgeries. There are currently 200,000 surgeries pending.
Meanwhile, the hospitals said they feared that their staff would shift to private clinics. The new bill was criticised by the opposition and healthcare workers.
The opposition vowed to oppose it vehemently and said that the bill would further contribute staffing shortage, which are stunting public hospitals.