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British
Columbia
VICTORIA —
Docs clinch deal BC's physicians have ratified
the terms of the three-year agreement reached in June
between the BC Medical Association and the provincial
government. Several key issues were addressed, including
getting support for managing chronic diseases and maternity
care; sorting out recruitment and retention issues;
and modernizing medical labs. JKG
VICTORIA
— Slowing down speed The BC government
hopes its integrated strategy to prevent abuse of crystal
meth and other amphetamines will help them reach their
education and prevention goals. Amphetamine use is on
the rise in the province, and so too is incidence of
their hazardous side effects. Longterm use can cause
structural changes to the brain, memory loss, difficulty
completing complex tasks and permanent psychotic symptoms.
JKG
Alberta
EDMONTON —
Klein woos seniors Proposed reforms to seniors'
benefits are expected to form the basis of a pre-election
round of spending for the Ralph Klein government. Reforms
include raising the income cutoff that determines if
seniors will have to pay full or partial health premiums;
expanding prescription drug coverage; and opening up
eligibility parameters for eye and dental care. JKG
HIGH
PRAIRIE — High Prairie feeling low The
government's $19 million injection into ailing rural
health authority Peace Country Health will keep it afloat
this year, but administrators are bracing themselves
for a repeat crisis next year. With a predicted $15.7
million shortfall for 2004-2005, Peace Country says
it's only left with enough funds to run the system for
11 more months. The health authority is only a year
old, and was the result of an amalgamation of two and
a half health authorities. JKG
Saskatchewan
SASKATOON —
A generation waits Saskatchewanians dreaming
of one day training to become a medical lab technologist
would do well to remember the adage "Patience is a virtue."
It's been revealed that there's a 10-year wait to get
into the program. This fall, only 16 students were accepted
into the two-year program at the Saskatchewan Institute
of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) — 165
applied. Not surprisingly, the province is suffering
from a shortage of lab technologists. The Saskatchewan
Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists is asking
the government to double enrolment in the SIAST program
to put an end to the shortage. CS
Manitoba
WINNIPEG —
An expensive ride Winnipeg's Fire Paramedics
Service is catching some heat for not volunteering the
cost of an ambulance ride ($270 per person) from the
get go. One family received a bill for around $1,000
after catching a non-emergency lift to the local hospital
after their carbon monoxide detector went off. The Fire
Paramedic Chief defends the policy, saying there's a
risk that if the price tag is revealed up front, some
patients would say "Thanks, but no thanks" and not get
the care they need. CS
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WINNIPEG
— Clamping down on the pox Health
officials in the 'Peg are warning people who've had
unprotected sex to get tested for syphilis, after two
more cases were diagnosed. There was a similar outbreak
of the STI in the city about a year and a half ago,
and health officials want to nip this one in the bud
before it spreads too quickly. The worst-affected group
are gay men and sex workers. CS
Ontario
TORONTO —
Buying some time To help dig them out of their
waiting-time hole and beef up prevention programs, Ontario's
hospitals are getting a $470 million infusion of cash,
Health Minister George Smitherman announced. The extra
funding will help waiting times for cardiac and cancer
care, joint replacements and cataract surgery. The new
monies brings the province's total hospital funding
to $11.3 billion for 2004-2005. PB
SUDBURY
— Tainted summer Twenty-five campers
and staff at the Adventure North Hockey Camp —
owned by former NHL hockey player Troy Crowder —
fell ill after eating E coli -infected hamburger
meat. A 12-year-old boy was flown to Toronto's Hospital
for Sick Children to be treated for possible kidney
damage; two others were treated at Sudbury Regional
Hospital. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is conducting
an investigation into the tainted ground beef, which
was purchased at a Costco store in Sudbury. PB
Quebec
SHERBROOKE —
Superbug 'difficile' to snuff out Despite claims
that it's under control, the Clostridium difficile epidemic
doesn't look to be going away anytime soon. A CMAJ
study published online August 4 blames the superbug
for 100 deaths in a Sherbrooke hospital over the last
18 months. Another CMAJ article from earlier
in the summer linked difficile to 80 deaths in
Montreal and Calgary during the same period. Provincial
Health Minister Philippe Couillard points the finger
at the estimated 30% to 40% of hospital workers who
fail to wash their hands. CS
MONTREAL
— Look before they leap Doctors at
the Montreal Children's Hospital aren't exactly jumping
for joy at the uncommon number of trampoline accidents
they've seen this summer. The problem's so bad that
hospital officials have issued a warning to parents
to think twice before buying the garden-variety backyard
trampoline. So far, 40 patients have shown up in the
ER with trampoline-related complaints, including head
injuries and fractured or sprained arms and ankles.
CS
Contributors:
Paula Baker, Jacqui Clydesdale, Jane George, Jason K
Gondziola,, Bill McGuire, Brian Hoyle, Deanna Stokes-Sullivan,
Carla Sparks
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