Union calls for halt to move procedures from hospitals to private clinics Submission by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions / CUPE on the Proposed amendment to O. Reg. 264/07 made under the Local Health System Integration Act, 2006 and A Regulation under the Independent Health Facilities Act - Prescribed Persons .  The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions / CUPE represents 30,000 workers in hospitals across the province, including Registered Practical Nurses, service workers, and administrative workers. We are opposed to the government’s plan to move surgical, diagnostic, and other work from public hospitals to private clinics. Our objections can be summarized as falling within seven distinct areas: 1] Quality • Even minor operations can go wrong. We believe that, in contrast with hospitals, it is unlikely private clinics will be able to handle emergencies and that they will likely simply call EMS. Will ambulances be able to move patients to hospitals when things go wrong? (We say “when” advisably, as sooner or later there will be problems.) Indeed, private surgical clinics first came to public attention when a patient died and the paramedics arrived to find a patient with no vital signs. Is it appropriate to establish a system that inherently requires extra time to effectively treat patients who fall into emergency situations? This is particularly troubling as underfunding and restructuring have challenged EMS response times. The government and government officials must be prepared to accept responsibility for such deaths if this plan is approved.