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British
Columbia
Good prognosis for
private clinic
VICTORIA —
The controversial Copeman Healthcare Centre has been
exonerated after a lengthy audit ordered by Health Minister
George Abbott concluded the clinic is not contravening
any laws, reports the Vancouver Sun. Critics,
however, including the Canadian Doctors for Medicare
(CDM), the Council of Canadians and the BC Nurses' Union,
dispute the clinic's claim that the initial fee of $3,900
doesn't enable queue-jumping for insured services, calling
it "elitist" and "Club Medicare." "The reality is that
the... government believes that having two tiers of
access to health care is the right direction," NDP health
critic Adrian Dix told the Vancouver Sun. LD
Alberta
Medical space cowboys
CALGARY —
A pilot project has shown that using space-exploration
technology to beam real-time ultrasound images via satellite
can be a fast, cost-effective way to bridge Canada's
vast geography. The research team of Calgary-area trauma
doctors, which includes Canadian physician and NASA
flight surgeon Dr Douglas Hamilton, is currently in
the midst of a successful six-month pilot program connecting
hospitals in Calgary and Banff. The technology has sped
up diagnosis and treatment without disrupting busy emergency
physicians. Plans are already in the works to use the
technology in more remote areas of the country, like
Nunavut. GE
Saskatchewan
A physician's philanthropy
REGINA —
Dr Roberta McKay was honoured with the Outstanding Philanthropist
Award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals
(AFP) recently at the annual celebration of National
Philanthropy Day. Dr McKay, the founding sponsor of
the Saskatchewan Health Care Excellence Awards, was
nominated by AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan and the
Regina Chapter of Osteoporosis Canada. "Seeing people
who were out on the street and... are now doing well,
taking courses to build their self-confidence and get
life skills. It's really rewarding to see people turning
their lives around," she told the Regina Leader Post.
TJ
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Manitoba
MDs leave no stone
unturned
WINNIPEG —
Manitoba authorities have pledged to review the file
of every patient who dies in a Winnipeg hospital in
an effort to improve patient safety, instead of just
critical-incident deaths. "[A] national study several
years ago... suggested that as many as 20,000 people
were dying in Canadian hospitals through misadventure,
through difficulties the system was having in managing
their care," Winnipeg Regional Health Authority CEO
Dr Brian Postl told CBC News. HA
New
dialysis stations pledged
WINNIPEG —
The government promised it will add 26 new dialysis
stations throughout Manitoba. In the November 20 speech
from the throne, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced
a $20-million plan to set up 10 additional stations
in Winnipeg to serve 60 more patients a year and 16
new units outside the city to increase rural capacity
by 72 patients. HA
Ontario
"I regret it deeply:"
coroner
TORONTO —
The former Ontario Chief Coroner, Dr James Young, faced
accusations at the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology
that he turned a blind eye to the child-death autopsies
botched by pathologist Dr Charles Smith. The suspicious
deaths attracted national attention for over a decade
before Dr Smith was removed from his position at the
coroner's office in 2004. The inquiry charged that Dr
Young ignored an early warning sign in an Ontario Superior
Court acquittal in 1991 of a 12-year-old Timmins babysitter
accused of murdering an infant, who had been convicted
initially based on Dr Smith's testimony. "I regret it
deeply, but I can't go back and change history," said
Dr Young. JJM
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