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Quebec
QUEBEC CITY —Healthcare
rides the bus The
Quebec City bus strike is ruffling the feathers of the
Quebec Regional Health Agency. President Michel Fontaine
claims that a fair number of the 7,000 employees working
in the healthcare system have been calling in sick because
they can't get to work. Mr Fontaine told the Essential
Services Council his grievances, including his request
that some buses be put back on the road. For its part,
the bus drivers' union admits the public is being inconvenienced,
but they don't think healthcare is being compromised.
HA
MONTREAL
— It's
a tough job but Provincial Health and Social
Services Minister Philippe Couillard has been busy dealing
with criticism related to the issue of C difficile
outbreak in Quebec. Mr Couillard assured the opposition
in a recent question period dust-up that his Liberal
government has taken measures to deal with the outbreak,
including a $500 million boost in healthcare. HA
New
Brunswick
FREDERICTON —
Takes one to know
one Doctors are lending a helping voice to succour
Premier Bernard Lord in delivering on his promise to
recruit more physicians. Physicians like Dr Chris Culligan
have been leading the way, offering practical suggestions
and innovative ideas. Dr Culligan noted that New Brunswick
isn't nearly as active or aggressive as other provinces
are in its recruiting efforts. Other suggestions from
docs were to offer incentives and perks, such as helping
with student loan debt and assisting docs' spouses in
procuring employment. GE
Nova
Scotia
HALIFAX —
Not so Nova Scotia
Each month, 700 Nova Scotians hit 65. This will
bring the number of seniors to more than 260,000 within
20 years, accounting for 30% of the province's population.
These mushrooming numbers in a province that already
has the third-oldest population in Canada has forced
provincial officials to form a task force charged with
developing a strategy to ensure that, among other things,
healthcare will be maintained. BH
HALIFAX
— Slight
queue shrinkage In 2004, Nova Scotians on average
had to wait almost 18 weeks for medical treatment —
nine weeks following referral to a specialist and 62
more days before being treated. That's about a week
faster than the year before, and is now about the same
as the national average, according to a report released
October 20 by the Fraser Institute. The marginal improvement
comes at a time of record health spending. BH
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Prince
Edward Island
ELLERSLIE —
ER protesters Premier Pat Binns faced a throng
of 700, packed into a school to protest the closure
of their emergency room at Stewart Memorial Hospital.
Local doctors and town residents are solidly united
against the move. A group of citizens came forward offering
to raise the money themselves in order to save the ER.
Locals have also threatened court action should the
government go ahead with its plan. According to the
government, the ER shutdown was recommended in an accreditation
report. TJ
Newfoundland
ST JOHN'S —
Long MRI lines
Newfoundland and Labrador patients have the longest
average waits for MRI tests — 33.5 weeks —
according to the Fraser Institute's annual survey on
hospital waiting lists in Canada. The national average
wait for an MRI test is 12.6 weeks. A patient's average
wait time from first assessment to actually receiving
medical treatment improved slightly over last year's
figures. It went down to 19.2 weeks from 21.8 last year.
The national average wait time is 17.9 weeks. DSS
ST
JOHN'S — Smokin'
ain't allowed in school The Newfoundland and
Labrador Medical Association (NLMA) wants smoking banned
on school properties. Smoking is already forbidden in
most public places except bars and bingo halls. Doctors
have been asking the province to implement a full ban
that would scrap the exceptions and expand no-smoking
territory to include school grounds. NLMA President
Dr Andrew Major says banning smoking around all schools
would reduce peer pressure among teens to take up the
habit. DSS
The
Territories
IQALUIT —
'Waste'
for new hospital The new Qikiqtani General Hospital
in Nunavut is set to open in 2006, and its builders
have decided to use 'waste heat' to keep patients warm,
a sound idea considering the territory's 100% dependence
on fossil fuels. Qikiqtani, like most communities in
the Far North, is forced to use notoriously inefficient
diesel incinerators to generate electricity, but this
wasted energy can be partly harnessed in a heat exchanger.
The waste heat should provide more than enough warmth
for the hospital, which will still have a boiler installed
for emergency backup. BW
WHITEHORSE
— Healthy
health ledger After all the numbers that make
up the territorial formula financing, Canada Health
Transfer and a deficit reduction are calculated, it
looks like the Yukon will be singing a surplus song
to the tune of $47 million. In addition to the financial
injection to territorial formula financing and the Canada
Health Transfer, a new $150-million fund was created
to be split among the three territories to help deal
with the high costs of flying patients to receive medical
treatment. JM
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