The Campbell Liberals need to take responsibility for the declining state of health care in the Fraser Health Authority that led to the firing of its CEO, says the Hospital Employees’ Union.
“It’s an act of pre-election panic by a government that wants to look like it’s acting to fix a mess that it created in the first place,” says HEU acting secretary-business manager Zorica Bosancic.
“But for nearly three years, Mr. Smith has implemented the policies of the Campbell Liberals and cut hundreds of long-term care beds, downgraded or closed hospitals and fired more than a thousand workers.
“They need to take responsibility for the cuts, closures and privatization that have compromised care at hospitals like Surrey Memorial,” says Bosancic.
Bosancic noted that Mr. Smith — who was hired by the FHA in June, 2002 — will likely be eligible for a severance payment of up to $323,000.
By comparison, a hospital cleaner with 25 years of service at an FHA hospital and fired as a result of privatization would have collected about $8,400 in severance.
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Contact: Mike Old, communications director, 604-828-6771 (cell)