FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2009

MCGUINTY LIBERALS ATTACKING RURAL HEALTH CARE

Sarnia-Lambton communities will soon lose funding to attract doctors

Sarnia - Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey said today that the consultation process undertaken by the McGuinty Liberals to review the province's Underserviced Area Program (UAP) means that many communities in Sarnia-Lambton will lose financial incentives to recruit and retain much-needed doctors.

"The McGuinty Liberals have apparently decided to erode rural health care using a new scoring system that penalizes rural Ontario," said Bailey.   "They aren't really consulting on this - they're just holding meetings under the cover of summer to quietly prepare rural communities for the cuts that lie ahead."

Bailey noted that the government is using a new "Rurality Index for Ontario" scale under which communities with a score of under 40 will no longer be eligible to receive incentive funding to attract and keep doctors. The scores by community are available at Rurality Index for Ontario .

Under the new Rurality Index for Ontario only Enniskillen and Oil Springs would be eligible to receive funding to help attract Doctors.  The rest of Sarnia-Lambton is ineligible.

"If this goes ahead unchanged our physician recruitment program in Sarnia-Lambton will be placed in jeopardy."

"The McGuinty Liberals are making it even harder to encourage new doctors to settle in Sarnia-Lambton, potentially placing my constituents' health care in jeopardy," said Mr. Bailey. "The people who live and raise families in our community have been forced to pay McGuinty's now-forgotten health tax since 2004, but what do they have to show for it?"

"It's hypocritical for the McGuinty Liberals to even think about cutting rural health care when they allowed wasteful and abusive spending of taxpayer-funded health care dollars to continue unchecked at eHealth Ontario.'

Mr. Bailey noted that the deadline for submissions to participate in the so-called consultations is August 28, 2009. Bailey is asking residents to begin a letter writing campaign so they can express their outrage at the McGuinty government's ill-advised attack on rural health care in Sarnia-Lambton.  A draft letter will be available at http://www.bobbaileympp.com/.

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CONTACT:     

Bob Bailey, MPP

(519) 337-0051