The Spiraling Cost of Downsizing Healthcare Workers: More Problems and More Wastes of Money

The Spiraling Cost of Downsizing Healthcare Workers:
More Problems and More Waste of Money

Nipawin - Wednesday, June 13, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

gambling
casino
In the early 90's, the new reactionary government of Roy Romanow along with the

Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) embarked in the

implementation of the second phase of Tommy Douglas's Medicare vision⁽¹⁾. The

implementation of the second phase of Douglas's vision has changed Saskatchewan

health care to a gambling casino⁽²⁾, and more gambling is being perpetrated at the

expense of people with the ongoing analysis of Ken Fyke's report⁽³⁾ and Roy Romanow's

Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada⁽⁴⁾.

social
problems
Our Big Brains are continuing to save money by downsizing health care workers without

realizing the counterintuitive effect of such downsizing on employees' productivity, employees'

quality of life, and quality of health services. The result is that instead to save money,

downsizing is creating more and more social problems, and more and more waste of

money.

obsolete
mentality
Our provincial health care system has become dysfunctional, and there is no research

or money which can alleviate the problem of the obsolete mentality of our Big Brains. A

recent report from Canada's labour ministry has stated that nurses are absent from work

for more than three weeks rather than six days as for other full-time employees⁽⁵⁾.

work
environment
And Rosalie Longmore, head of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, has responded to

this report by saying that nurses are working too much overtime and that

"If you're working a lot of overtime, your general immune system is run down, nurses are contacting other illness, because they are exhausted."

Longmore has also stated that the only way to improve the health of nurses is to change the

work environment.

start
caring
Further, as the CUPE health care strike is reaching his third day, union president Stephen

Foley expressed his feeling for the failures of the health system in this way

"Our members are routinely working exhausted, sick, injured, and overtime because there's so much more to do in the health care system and, quite frankly, there's not enough staff to do it... That simply can't continue. Our members simply want a life. SAHO and the provincial government are not going to solve the staff recruitment and retention problem in the health care system until they start caring about the very people that work for them, the health care workers⁽⁶⁾."

main
issues
This morning we have the news that 10,000 SEIU health workers could vote as early as

next week whether to walk off their jobs at some eleven health care districts⁽⁷⁾. Greg Trew,

chief negotiator for the SEIU, says that the main issues are salary, pension, and staff

shortages and pointed out that

beyond
frustration

"I think we're coming to the end of a process quite frankly... The people that I represent are beyond frustration. They keep being told they're valued, what they do is important -- until it costs a dollar and then they're obviously not much of a priority at all."

continuous downsizing
Longmore, Foley and Trew are right on in focusing the problems of the health system in

the continuous downsizing of our health care workers. Professor John Sterman writes

"Extended overtime and the fatigue it leads to have many harmful effects. These include decreased alertness and performance on cognitive and other tasks, higher stress, lower job satisfaction, increased injury and accident rates and on and off the job, increased illness, decreased psychological health, increased incidence of substance abuse, higher suicide rates, and higher overall mortality⁽⁸⁾."

------------References/endnotes:

List of relevant political and economics articles http://ensign.ftlcomm.com

1.
-
A Saskatchewan Vision for Health, The Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan Health, August 1992

2.
-
Pat Atkinson: raising the finger and turning healthcare to a gambling casino, by Mario deSantis, February 3, 2000

3.
-
-
Caring for Medicare: Sustaining a Quality System: Saskatchewan Commission on Health Care, full report (chair, Ken Fyke, April, 2001) http://www.marketingden.com/medicare/Commission_on_Medicare-BW.pdf

4.
Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada http://www.healthcarecommission.ca/

5.
Nurses get ill, injured, more than other workers, CBC Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, June 10, 2001

6.
-
Union wants conciliator's help with health contract talks, CBC Saskatchewan, May 30, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/05/30/cupeconcil010530

7.
-
Another health strike looms, CBC Saskatchewan, June 12, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/06/12/serv010612

8.
Business Dynamics, by John D. Sterman, 2000, page 578 http://www.mhhe.com/sterman

The Spiraling Cost of Downsizing Healthcare Workers: More Problems and More Waste of Money

Nipawin - Wednesday, June 13, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

gambling casino	In the early 90's, the new reactionary government of Roy Romanow along with the
	Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) embarked in the
	implementation of the second phase of Tommy Douglas's Medicare vision⁽¹⁾. The
	implementation of the second phase of Douglas's vision has changed Saskatchewan
	health care to a gambling casino⁽²⁾, and more gambling is being perpetrated at the
	expense of people with the ongoing analysis of Ken Fyke's report⁽³⁾ and Roy Romanow's
	Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada⁽⁴⁾.

social problems	Our Big Brains are continuing to save money by downsizing health care workers without
	realizing the counterintuitive effect of such downsizing on employees' productivity, employees'
	quality of life, and quality of health services. The result is that instead to save money,
	downsizing is creating more and more social problems, and more and more waste of
	money.

obsolete mentality	Our provincial health care system has become dysfunctional, and there is no research
	or money which can alleviate the problem of the obsolete mentality of our Big Brains. A
	recent report from Canada's labour ministry has stated that nurses are absent from work
	for more than three weeks rather than six days as for other full-time employees⁽⁵⁾.

work environment	And Rosalie Longmore, head of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, has responded to
	this report by saying that nurses are working too much overtime and that
	*"If you're working a lot of overtime, your general immune system is run down, nurses are contacting other illness, because they are exhausted."*
	Longmore has also stated that the only way to improve the health of nurses is to change the
	work environment.

start caring	Further, as the CUPE health care strike is reaching his third day, union president Stephen
	Foley expressed his feeling for the failures of the health system in this way
	"Our members are routinely working exhausted, sick, injured, and overtime because there's so much more to do in the health care system and, quite frankly, there's not enough staff to do it... That simply can't continue. Our members simply want a life. SAHO and the provincial government are not going to solve the staff recruitment and retention problem in the health care system until they start caring about the very people that work for them, the health care workers⁽⁶⁾."

main issues	This morning we have the news that 10,000 SEIU health workers could vote as early as
	next week whether to walk off their jobs at some eleven health care districts⁽⁷⁾. Greg Trew,
	chief negotiator for the SEIU, says that the main issues are salary, pension, and staff
	shortages and pointed out that
beyond frustration	"I think we're coming to the end of a process quite frankly... The people that I represent are beyond frustration. They keep being told they're valued, what they do is important -- until it costs a dollar and then they're obviously not much of a priority at all."

continuous downsizing	Longmore, Foley and Trew are right on in focusing the problems of the health system in
	the continuous downsizing of our health care workers. Professor John Sterman writes
	"Extended overtime and the fatigue it leads to have many harmful effects. These include decreased alertness and performance on cognitive and other tasks, higher stress, lower job satisfaction, increased injury and accident rates and on and off the job, increased illness, decreased psychological health, increased incidence of substance abuse, higher suicide rates, and higher overall mortality⁽⁸⁾."

------------References/endnotes:

	List of relevant political and economics articles http://ensign.ftlcomm.com

1. -	A Saskatchewan Vision for Health, The Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan Health, August 1992

2. -	Pat Atkinson: raising the finger and turning healthcare to a gambling casino, by Mario deSantis, February 3, 2000

3. - -	Caring for Medicare: Sustaining a Quality System: Saskatchewan Commission on Health Care, full report (chair, Ken Fyke, April, 2001) http://www.marketingden.com/medicare/Commission_on_Medicare-BW.pdf

4.	Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada http://www.healthcarecommission.ca/

5.	Nurses get ill, injured, more than other workers, CBC Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, June 10, 2001

6. -	Union wants conciliator's help with health contract talks, CBC Saskatchewan, May 30, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/05/30/cupeconcil010530

7. -	Another health strike looms, CBC Saskatchewan, June 12, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/06/12/serv010612

8.	Business Dynamics, by John D. Sterman, 2000, page 578 http://www.mhhe.com/sterman