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“It has become abundantly clear that this government is dead set on moving forward with a privatization agenda without any public consultation." — Jerry Earle, NAPE President
St. John's (11 Sept. 2015) — A Request for Proposal (RFP) by the Newfoundland and Labrador government opens up another area of our province’s health care system to privatization, says Jerry Earle, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE).
Newfoundland and Labrador issue another request to privatize health care services
Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Community Services (HCS) issued an RFP for a consultant report on the establishment of a Central Medical Dispatch Centre (CMDC). The Centre would dispatch and monitor road and air ambulance services for the entire province.
According to the RFP, the successful consultant will provide options for a “private or non-profit constructed, staffed and managed CMDC operating under a long term performance based contract with HCS."
Earlier this year, the provincial government issued an RFP to design, build, and operate four long term care homes under a public-private partnership (P3) model.
Privatization has a bad track record across the country
“Once again we are finding out about this province’s plans for privatizing health care services by reading an RFP,” said NAPE President Jerry Earle. “This government must commit to keeping public health care services in the public realm. We have seen the horror stories in other provinces when health care services are privatized — let’s not make the same mistakes.”
“It has become abundantly clear that this government is dead set on moving forward with a privatization agenda without any public consultation,” stated Earle. “Experience in other jurisdictions has clearly shown that public-private partnerships (P3), like the one the successful proponent of the RFP will be proposing, simply don’t work. P3s neither deliver public services more effectively or more efficiently.”
Which public service will be privatized next asks NAPE/NUPGE
“At this point we are left wondering what could be next? The people of this province shouldn’t have to read the fine print in an RFP to find out,” said Earle. “Our government must do better. They must be more transparent and open about their plans for the province’s health care system.”
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