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New Brunswick
FREDERICTON
— Ministry
coughs up for vaccines Health and Wellness Minister
Elvy Robichaud has announced that a comprehensive program
for vaccinating the province's youngsters will receive
$3.55 million over the next two years. Four vaccines
— whooping cough, chicken pox, meningitis and pneumonia
— will be administered by public health nurses
and family doctors over the next two years. Under the
program, over 40,000 children and teens will get jabs.
JC
FREDERICTON
— Docs down east Twenty-five new
physicians will be welcomed with open arms over the
next year, the province has announced. The new positions
are the first of 70 to be phased in over the next four
years to address acute doctor shortages. Physicians
are assigned to regions according to need; Moncton,
Fredericton and Saint John will get 19 new family doctors
and six new specialists over the next year. JC
Nova
Scotia
HALIFAX —
None for you, one for me A nurse at the
QEII Health Centre has been barred for withholding morphine
from patients and pocketing it for her own use. The
nurse replaced patients' doses of the painkiller with
saline in their IV lines as they came out of anesthesia
following surgery. Though her actions didn't cause any
serious harm (pain relief was only delayed for a few
minutes), the nurse's punishment is severe to drive
home the message that "being pain free is a major, major
issue," according to Mary Ellen Graham of the Chief
Nursing Office. BH
HALIFAX
— Palliative care put on hold Plans
for the first freestanding palliative care hospice in
Atlantic Canada have been halted. The Annapolis Valley
District Health Authority says they're being forced
to choose between building the hospice or adding more
beds to other local hospitals. Dr Catherine McNally,
of the hospice foundation, laments the halt, saying
that adding the beds will be three times more costly
than the per patient cost of the hospice. CS
Prince
Edward Island
SOURIS —
A lonely beat The Eastern Kings area can be a
lonely part of the Island to serve. The area, which
has only four doctors, was recently dealt a blow when
Dr Steve O'Brien announced he's leaving the area after
28 years to take a job as medical consultant for the
PEI Workers' Compensation Board. Dr O'Brien says the
workload has just become too great. A month ago emergency
service in Souris had to be temporarily discontinued
when two of the hospital's permanent physicians went
on vacation together. BM
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CHARLOTTETOWN
— Containing costs Opposition Leader
Robert Ghiz has demanded that the Department of Health
go public with its plans to "contain expenditure growth"
before any decisions are made. In July, the province
said the current year's deficit is approaching the $40
million mark and blames its troubles on healthcare over-expenditures.
Mr Ghiz warns that any budget cuts would translate to
program and service cuts. BM
Newfoundland
ST JOHN'S —
Docs asked to hold fire — on their lawns
The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association is
asking its members to participate in a voluntary ban
on the cosmetic use of pesticides. In a letter to all
members, President Dr Andrew Major has asked doctors
to consider the harmful effects of herbicides and pesticides
on the environment before they set out to beautify their
gardens. The St John's area has been dealing with infestations
of garden-unfriendly pests — and an accompanying
rise in pesticide use. DSS
Yukon
WHITEHORSE —
Funding disabled The Yukon Disability Council has
been dealt federal budgets cuts and they want to know
why. The feds have chopped $30,000 from the council,
which helps to fund disabled people who don't qualify
for employment insurance. CS
Nunavut
IQALUIT —
A show of support Nunavut's Premier Paul Okalik
hopes that September's three-day first ministers' conference
on healthcare reform will produce real help for Nunavut.
The last premiers' meeting, in July, backed in principle
the idea that Ottawa should pay the full cost of medical
travel for all Nunavummiut, an arrangement that could
save the territory millions every year. Mr Okalik is
now looking for a solid commitment. JG
Northwest
Territories
YELLOWKNIFE —
Sterile suit A woman is suing two former NWT
docs for sterilizing her without her consent. The procedure
was done in 1986, when the woman was 15-years-old. Drs
Clarence Moisey and Donald Handley are fighting the
suit. Dr Moisey says that he recommended the tubal ligation
because of the woman's chronic liver problems. Dr Hadley
maintains the operation was performed with informed
consent, either from the patient or her guardians. But
so far no consent form has been found. CS
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