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Govind Rao

Be informed about the MERS-CoV virus - CNO - 0 views

www.cno.org/...ormed-about-the-mers-cov-virus

from heather infectious disease

shared by Govind Rao on 21 May 14 - No Cached
  • Since April 2014, there has been an increase in reported cases of human infection with MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) in the Middle East, with spread to Europe, North Africa, Asia and the United States. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has released information on the MERS-CoV  virus for health workers and health sector employers. It includes information on what to watch for, as well as occupational health and safety and infection prevention and control measures. The Ministry will continue to share up-to-date information on its dedicated Emergency Planning and Preparedness page Page last reviewed May 16, 2014
Govind Rao

New files could raise the stakes in long-awaited health-care wait-list fight - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246199|ntgm|20150302|215531681

from heather bc privatization private clinics court

shared by Govind Rao on 04 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • The Globe and Mail Mon Mar 2 2015
  • Six days before the B.C. Supreme Court was set to begin a long-awaited trial that could alter the public health-care system in B.C. - in fact, in Canada - the provincial government uncovered new documents in its own files that forced another delay. These are not just a few errant scraps of paper that were somehow overlooked in the past six years of pretrial wrangling, but thousands of pages of Ministry of Health documents that have just made their way to the surface. They relate to surgical waiting lists and physicians' extra billing - the core of the case about the place of private health care in B.C.
  • ince 2008, the province has sought to tackle illegal billing practices at two private health clinics run by Dr. Brian Day. All the while, the province has been paying annual penalties to Health Canada for violations of the Canada Health Act related to the practices it has not managed to stop. Dr. Day has made no attempt to hide the fact that, for years, the Cambie Surgery Centre and Specialist Referral Clinic have been breaking the law by charging patients for medically necessary treatment. What is now before the courts is his Charter challenge that argues British Columbians should be allowed to use their own resources to jump to the front of the queue for medical treatment because waiting lists in the public health-care system are unacceptably long.
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  • The trial was set to begin on Monday but now has been postponed as both sides examine the newly found ministry files. NDP health critic Judy Darcy says she hopes the government will throw everything it can at Dr. Day, because if he wins, she believes, British Columbia will be opening the door to a new twotiered health-care system for the country. She isn't convinced the B.C. Liberals wanted to fight this battle. "I think the government is under tremendous pressure to defend the Canada Health Act," she said in an interview. But at least at the outset, the province needed some prodding to engage.
  • The B.C. Nurses' Union led the charge in 2003, challenging the provincial government to enforce the law and stop private clinics from treading on publichealth turf. It was 2008 when the province finally sought an audit of the books of Dr. Day's two clinics. The two sides then spent four years arguing about the scope of the audit. Finally, in 2012, the Medical Services Commission concluded the clinics were extra billing patients and threatened an injunction, which is still up in the air. The audit was limited to a small sampling of a few hundred cases. "The only thing we saw was a one spot-check audit and it showed $150,000 worth of extra billing in a single month," Ms. Darcy said.
  • "So we are talking about millions of dollars over the years, and nothing has been done about that." The B.C. Health Coalition is an intervenor in the case. While the province may have been slow to get started, Steven Shrybman, a member of the group's legal team, says he is impressed with B.C.'s case as it stands now. "The province has demonstrated a very serious commitment to this case," he said. "I can't fault them for the job they have done in defending the validity of our medicare model under the Charter." Dr. Day has been angling for this day in court for many years, and all the while he says his case has grown stronger as the province's surgical waiting lists have grown.
  • "This is a case about patients being able to care for their own health when the government won't provide it," he said. The B.C. Supreme Court will hear, possibly later this spring, his argument that Canadians have a right, under the Charter, to access necessary and appropriate health care within a reasonable time - something he says does not exist in B.C. "The only way the government can win, in my view, is if they can show that wait lists are not a problem." Health Minister Terry Lake told reporters last week that the reason some waiting lists are growing is because the healthcare system is doing more surgeries. "But I have asked our provincial surgical advisory committee to look at the situation, because I think we can do better ... One of my real desires is to reduce those wait times."
  • That's why those freshly discovered Health Ministry files may be revealing, and if nothing else, Dr. Day's battle may drive the provincial government to find not just the desire, but the means, to take aim at surgical waiting lists.
Doug Allan

Doubtful on merger; Panel's proposed health unit amalgamations unlikely: doctor - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/...287668813

publichealth

shared by Doug Allan on 07 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • A provincial panel's proposal to slash the number of health units through amalgamations isn't likely to be implemented, a local official says. Dr. Ian Gemmill, the acting medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, said Wednesday the concept is too "revolutionary" and difficult to be managed before next year's provincial election.
  • Gemmill said it's basically "a huge trial balloon" but, implemented, would be a major change in the province's public health system.
  • But he stressed it is merely one option and, given the next provincial election is scheduled for June 7, 2018, the idea isn't likely to come to fruition.
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  • The veteran medical officer of health said the proposal suggests municipalities would pay the same share of the new health units'operation as they do now - 25 per cent - but he argued they could receive "quite a bit less representation."
  • He said it would also require "a huge commitment from government, which we have not yet seen" and on an "exceedingly tight" deadline.
  • "At least three major pieces of legislation would have to be changed to accommodate this," said Gemmill.
  • "I've seen a lot of them ... they don't really save money.
  • "I don't foresee amalgamations happening," Gemmill said, recalling the mergers of municipalities and school boards.
  • "I would not see the public health work force jeopardized in any way," he added. "There are very well-trained people who are doing a great job and that needs to be maintained."
  • Before his 2016 retirement, Schabas said health units could possibly save money by sharing a single medical officer of health and sharing some services. Schabas worked two days per week and was otherwise on call. He was paid $244,317 in 2016.
  • At the time of Schabas'remarks, Paul Huras, the chief executive officer of the South East Local Health Integration Network, said it was worth considering but sharing services may not work because of health units'distinct mandates. Huras said health units could benefit from better links with other health care providers and, if they could save money, may have more to spend on front-line staff.
  • Gemmill said health unit staff and Huras will meet Monday.
  • Board member Egerton Boyce, a Belleville councillor, said he attended a recent AMO panel on the subject. He said he left with the impression the concept is "likely not going to happen for a long time."
  • Health board members referred the matter to their governance committee and are expected to provide the resulting feedback to the health ministry. "There's merit to looking at the system," Gemmill told reporters. "It's been 50 years since the last time it was restructured in a major way." But he said the changes would be "a mammoth chore" and remain "very unlikely" before the election
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