Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath today asked Premier Dalton McGuinty to stop St. Joseph’s Hospital move to privatize hospital cleaning and infection control.

“To attain the highest standard of hospital cleanliness, we need to ensure that the task of cleaning doesn’t go to a private, for-profit third party,” Horwath said. “We know privatization is code for lower quality service, higher costs and greater risk. Hamilton wants no part of something like that.”

Health care workers at St. Joseph’s have launched a job action over the hospital’s plan to privatize cleaning services.

“These workers and the job they do are vital to containing the spread of deadly diseases like C. difficile,” Horwath said in the Legislature during Question Period. “Recent reports criticize the McGuinty government’s handling of infection control. Allowing privatization and for-profit cleaners is no way to alleviate the public’s concern. We need more workers on staff.”

“Why is the Premier allowing St. Joseph’s Hospital to contract out its cleaning services and potentially put public safety at greater risk?” Horwath queried. “Will someone over there connect the dots?”

Horwath likened privatized cleaning services to private, for-profit home care, which Hamiltonians battled fiercely and ultimately forced the government to retreat.

“In Hamilton we know the value of public services. Health care dollars go into patient care not private profits,” Horwath said.