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British Columbia
VANCOUVER
—Feeling the
heat Although
he's only been in office a few weeks, new health minister
George Abbott is already feeling the fiery blasts of
his new portfolio. A recent decision by the BC government
to transfer the children's mental health services from
the Ministry of Children and Family Development to the
Ministry of Health has upset families. They fear they
may now have to deal with two departments, potentially
increasing the red tape and making an already difficult
situation worse. Mr Abbott's predecessor, deputy premier
Shirley Bond, has been named Minister of Education.
LD
Hot Spot
Alberta
EDMONTON
—Are
two tiers not enough? Premier
Ralph Klein stunned the nation in mid-July when he met
the press to announce his government's plan to implement
their so-called "third way" of healthcare, modelled
on the British system, which mixes private and public
healthcare much more than Canada does. Changes will
include allowing patients to pay for procedure upgrades,
such as better-than-standard hip replacements, and possibly
linking drug coverage to earnings. Mr Klein remains
mum on whether patients will be allowed to pay for quicker
treatments. Mr Klein argues that with healthcare costs
spiralling out of control, to the tune of more than
$9 billion a year, something has to be done. GE
Saskatchewan
REGINA
—Hospitals
get good grades A
recent study conducted by the Health Quality Council
reports that Saskatchewan patients are for the most
part as pleased as punch with the care they receive
in their hospitals, with 76% of former patients giving
the province's hospitals the 'thumbs up'. But there
was room for improvement, especially quality of food
(oh that infamous hospital cuisine!), better information
about drug side effects, and nurses discussing patient
anxieties and fears. To check out the details of this
report visit www.hqc.sk.ca.
TJ
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Manitoba
BRANDON —
Hey! Minister!!
Leave my hospital alone! It's no secret that being a
health minister can often be a thankless job. Unfortunately,
Manitoba health minister Tim Sale isn't likely to make
many new friends in rural Manitoba, following the release
of a new government report that warns it's "impractical"
to expect all rural hospitals with EDs to maintain their
services in the future. Mr Sale poured oil on troubled
waters by praising the rural regions' efforts in their
attempts to preserve local services despite often aging
and diminishing populations. HA
Ontario
TORONTO —
A partner for George
Ontario joined Nova Scotia and Manitoba at the
healthcare vanguard when it introduced a separate healthy
living portfolio to help out Minister of Health and
Long-Term Care George Smitherman. Premier Dalton McGuinty
announced a brand new ministry, Health Promotion, and
named former Consumer and Business Services Minister
and former Ottawa mayor Jim Watson to the position.
Mr Watson's primary mission will be to get Ontarians
in shape. He'll also be responsible for general health
promotion and illness prevention activities. JJM
LONDON
— Streeiike
two! Still smarting after losing the Shriners
Hospital to Montreal (see Quebec for details), London
was dealt another, albeit less crushing, blow. A major
OR safety study directed at avoiding potentially fatal
injuries caused by contaminated needles has been halted
and moved to Edmonton and Sudbury, because of a lack
of cooperation from management at London Health Sciences
Centre and St Joseph's Health Care, says study head
and UWO epidemiology professor Bernadette Stinger. The
hospitals say they are disappointed, but blame staff
time constraints for the breakdown rather than resistance
from the brass. JJM
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