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British Columbia
VANCOUVER
— Smoking
chickens come home to roost A BC court of appeal
has upheld special legislation that allows the province
to pursue legal action against tobacco companies to
recover healthcare costs. The ruling overturns an earlier
decision by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Tobacco-related
health costs in the province are estimated at approximately
$500 million per year. The tobacco industry plans take
their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. JKG
VANCOUVER
— Totally
mental The University of British Columbia is
home to a new treatment centre for depression and bipolar
disorder. The new centre, which has secured $4.5 million
in private funding, aims to attract top researchers
and develop new therapies to help the more than five
million Canadians who suffer from mood disorders. The
centre is unique in that it will both perform research
and apply findings directly to patients within the facility.
JKG
Alberta
EDMONTON
— Got
it covered, finally Health Minister Gary Mar
has announced that at last patients under 60 will be
covered for the non-Hodgkins lymphoma drug rituximab.
Alberta Health and Wellness approved the Alberta Cancer
Board's decision and will provide $1.4 million to pay
for the drugs. Mr Mar expressed concern that the Cancer
Board failed to allocate any of the $18 million in additional
funding it received in the March budget for new drugs,
forcing the province to cough up for the shortfall.
GH
EDMONTON
— Crazy
about decentralization Regional health authorities
across the province are expected to have their own mental
health plans in place by the spring of 2005, Alberta
Health and Wellness has announced. The move follows
last year's transfer of responsibility for the majority
of mental health services from the provincial health
department to the nine regional health authorities.
The Alberta Medical Association was a member of the
steering committee for the new Provincial Mental Health
Plan. GH
Saskatchewan
SASKATOON
— Go
team go Dr Douglas Perry of Edmonton and Sue
Conroy, a nurse from Calgary, have been hand-picked
to act as team members for the review of emergency services
commissioned by the Saskatoon Health Region. "We will
be in Saskatoon June 10 and 11," says Dr Larry Olhauser,
who's in charge of the review, "and are on target for
a report by the end of June." The review will focus
on better-integrated service. JEC
REGINA
— Satisfied
customers Saskatchewan residents who had first-hand
experience of the province's health system rated service
and wait times higher than people who picked up their
information second-hand or from the media, according
to a recent study for Regina's LeaderPost. Another
study, commissioned for Saskatchewan Health in January,
presaged the findings, concluding that "confidence in
immediate, local, personal service is higher than more
distant, general and abstract service." JEC
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Manitoba
WINNIPEG
— One
dangerous town A new report says that 19 patients
died as a result of medical mistakes, and over 6,000
patients were unintentionally injured, while under the
care of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority last
year. The report looked at "clinical occurrences" that
took place in several of Winnipeg's health facilities
between April 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. Some say
the numbers are likely much higher as the study didn't
include the city's largest hospital, Health Sciences
Centre. CS
Ontario
TORONTO
— A
taxing problem The backlash from the recent provincial
budget continues to grow apace. A poll by the Toronto
Star shows that pretty much nobody's happy — 55%
of those surveyed said they didn't like the budget and
57% said they felt they'd be worse off because of it.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has filed
suit against the government for breaking their election
promise to not raise taxes. CS
THUNDER
BAY — Now
let's spend it The McGuinty government has started
revealing where they plan to spend that much-maligned
healthcare surcharge. They've announced that they'll
foot 80% of the bill for redevelopment projects in hospitals
in Thunder Bay and Sudbury. Both projects will increase
the number of beds in both regions and help fund the
Northern Ontario Medical School, slated to open in 2005.
CS
Quebec
MONTREAL
— Sweet
tranquillity — at a price The future is
costly, especially if you live in Montreal. A report
published in La Presse says that every one of
the 700 rooms in Montreal's new Mega Hospital —
scheduled to open in 2010 — will be private. Sounds
ok, right? Not so fast — patients will have to
pay for the privilege of their enforced privacy. The
hospital's directors claim that the scheme is designed
to make billing easier, since each room will only have
one (paying) inmate. CS
VICTORIAVILLE
— Christmas
came early The Hotel-Dieu d'Arthabaska hospital
in Victoriaville has received a cash injection from
the province for the purchase of new radiology equipment.
The health ministry will cover $220,000 of the cost;
the hospital is expected to pay $200,000 to refurbish
a section of the hospital to house the new equipment.
CS
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