The cuts ... so far

The Report: April 2010 vol.31 num.2

ITS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE THE BC GOVERNMENT WON AN ELECTION PROMISING TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE.

INSTEAD, THEY MADE $360 MILLION IN CUTS.

HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE CUTS ANNOUNCED TO DATE, AND THERE IS STILL MORE TO COME.

MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTIONS

• cut funding for Atlas Youth Supported Recovery in Terrace, the only residential recovery centre for youth in BCs Northwest
• cut funding for the award-winning West Coast Alternatives Society, where drug and alcohol programs for adults, youths and children help 600 residents a year
• cut social work budget in Fraser Health region hospitals, resulting in loss of 14 positions
• closing adolescent psychiatric unit at Abbotsford Hospital
• cut funding for 11 residential care beds at Bear Creek Lodge and 11 residential care beds at Newton Regency in Surrey
• eliminating the only recreation therapist in an eating disorders clinic
• cut funding for Burnaby Family Life, a program for adult survivors of sexual abuse
• cut mental health and addictions services at Capital Mental Health Association in the Victoria area
• cut half the staff hours at Gaumont Resident in Kamloops, specializing in treating mental health and addictions
• closed Waddells Haven Guest Home in Mission, a residential mental health facility also providing addictions services
• closed the only withdrawal management program in the Fraser Valley, at Chilliwack General Hospital
• eliminated psychology services for adult rehabilitation at Royal Inland Hospital
• elimination of music therapy, other staff cuts including dietitian, social worker, counselor, recreation therapist at Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions
• closed outpatient psychiatry programs at UBC Hospital: anxiety disorder clinic and integrated personality program
• closing the psychiatric ward ... Eric Martin Pavilion ... in Victoria

SENIORS AND RESIDENTIAL CARE

• cut funding for North Shore Keep Well Society, which helps keep 500 seniors healthy, and Seniors One Stop, which gets 5000 calls yearly
• closed a 36-bed geriatric assessment and rehabilitation unit at Victoria General Hospital
• closed geriatric day hospital in Vancouver
• closed 25-bed convalescent care unit and an 8-bed hospice at Queens Park Care Centre in New Westminster
• closed 42 residential care beds at Peace Arch Hospital
• closed Pouce Coupe Care Home
• closing Oak Bay Lodge and Mount Tolmie Hospital in the Victoria area

SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND INFANTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

• cut funding to help young children access Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention autism program at Queen Alexandra Centre for Children
• eliminated key staff for Infant Development Program, Aboriginal Development Program and Supported Child Development Program, leaving parents with special needs kids with less support
• closure of Melissa Park Lodge in Port Coquitlam, a mental health residential facility and child development centre specializing in mental health and addictions services for children and youth
• cut autism intervention services in the Okanagan

SURGERIES, DIAGNOSTIC AND REHABILITATION SERVICES

• cancelled 328 knee and hip operations for people living in the Interior
• cut 760 elective surgeries and 3000 MRIs on Vancouver Island
• cut almost 10,000 MRIs ... and possibly cutting 6000 surgeries and closing 25 per cent of operating rooms ... in the Vancouver health region
• cancelled 35 per cent of elective surgeries in the Fraser Health Authority during the Olympic games, add ing up to an estimated 2000 surgeries; cancelled 450 surgeries in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority during the same period, as well as implementing extended closures until March 2010, cancelling another 5800 cases eliminated speech language pathology
• services in Golden
• at Kelowna General Hospital, closed six rehab beds for joint surgeries; closed five hospice beds; closed five reactivation beds.
• concerns about inadequate sterilization of surgery equipment caused cancellation of surgeries at Royal Inland Hospital
• cut services for multiple sclerosis patients at UBC

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND SUPPORT

• cut $2 million from contracts with community agencies and non-profit societies delivering health services in the Victoria area
• cut crisis line services in the North Island
• closed the Chimo Achievement Centre, a therapeutic day program for adults with disabilities in Coquitlam and the TriCities area, promoting independence, preventing deterioration, and enhancing quality of life
• cuts to support services for people living with HIV/ AIDS in both Vancouver and the Okanagan, with more severe cuts announced for the spring
• closure of a specialized food bank for people living with HIV/AIDS, stocked with nutritionally optimized items to support the dietary needs of immune compromised clients
• spiritual care eliminated across Fraser Health Authority
• reduced funding and introduced new charges for Meals on Wheels in Nanaimo
• cut employment and vocational support services for people with mental disabilities and other barriers to employment
• cut 50 per cent of public health dietitians
• cut speech language pathology services at Deaf Childrens Society of BC