Disabled adults get inadequate health care, study finds Researchers paint grim picture of preventive care, medications and "band-aid solutions"

By: Andrea Gordon Feature Writer, Published on Tue Nov 12 2013

Adults with autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities face more physical and mental health problems but are less likely to get the care they need than other adults, a new Ontario study has found. The research, released Tuesday, is the largest examination of its kind and paints a worrisome picture of how this “silent minority” — often unable to communicate their distress — is served by the health care system.

The Hospital As health care changes, Canadian hospitals under pressure

SANDRA MARTIN AND CARLY WEEKS The Globe and Mail Published Sunday, Nov. 17 2013, 9:51 PM EST Last updated Monday, Nov. 18 2013,

This is part of The Globe’s three-month series on the challenges facing Canadian hospitals

Lynsey Kitching   More often than not, people speak of problems, and offer no solutions. However, a recent visit from Dave Deines and Sherman Hillier, the provincial vice-presidents of Ambulance Paramedics BC (APBC) – CUPE 873 to council was full of the latter.

By Sarah Ferguson, Fort Erie Times Thursday, November 28, 2013

FORT ERIE - Public health workers, dentists and people with a vested interest in health are calling on the provincial government to invest in public oral health care for adults living with low incomes. New information from the Ontario Oral Health Alliance, a group of advocates for oral health, has found there were about 58,000 people across Canada who visited an emergency room for oral health reasons in 2012, said Bridges Community Health Centre promoter, Rhonda Barron.

Written By Wes keller

The provincial government will not be able to live up to its promises of a transformed health-care system that meets the diverse care needs of Ontarians without hiring more nurses, says the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO).

Too many registered nurses (RN) across this province are experiencing excessive workloads, and job openings for new grads have dried up,” said Rhonda Seidman-Carlson, president of RNAO. According to RNAO’s calculations, 12.9 per cent of newly graduated RNs were unemployed in 2012. A further 4.1 per cent were working outside of nursing and looking for nursing employment.

Tories discuss health-care premiums Intent is to reinvestigate alternatives, says MLA Stephen Khan By: Amy Crofts   |  Posted: Wednesday, Nov 27, 2013

return to the health-care premium as it formerly existed

29 November 2013

Greek state hospitals were operating with emergency staff on Friday as doctors, nurses and administrative staff walked off the job in a 24-hour strike to protest more cutbacks.  Carrying banners that read "Take your hands off the health care system - it should not be seen as a luxury," several hundred protesters gathered outside the Health Ministry in central Athens.Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_29/Greek-health-care-workers-shut-down-state-hospitals-8020/

November 29, 2013 A closer look at European health care reforms

The openness to try innovative solutions is the "most striking difference" between the health care systems of European countries and Canada, according to the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a public policy think tank in Ottawa, Ontario.

Canada should look to Sweden and Switzerland for examples of potentially beneficial health reforms, including activity-based funding, more private provision of care and allowing doctors to practise under both private and public systems, the institute's reports in A European Flavour For Medicine.

Poll shows growing disaffection over private healthcare providers Public opposition to non-NHS providers used by Labour and BMA to claim private companies have fragmented patient care

Friday 29 November 2013

The public's attitude has hardened against private providers running healthcare services, a poll has found.

By David Kilgour

Canadians have an enormous attachment, almost equivalent to national self-definition, in our universal health care system.

The cost savings of Canada’s single-insurer vs. the American multiple insurer competitive system are clear. A study reported by the International Journal of Health Services concluded that reducing American administrative and promotional costs to Canadian levels would save at least $209 billion a year, “enough to fund universal coverage.”

CUPE Nova Scotia urges caution on health care mergers Nov 1, 2013 01:14

(Truro) – The president of CUPE Nova Scotia, Danny Cavanagh, says he believes the McNeil government should move very cautiously with any kind of health care amalgamations. “The downsizing of administration that was already taking place with the previous government was working. That was a good thing. It saved money and should continue,” says Cavanagh. “Any moves to merge District Health Authorities, eliminate front line services or privatize services will be detrimental to the system.  We respectfully ask the health minister to sit down with the unions representing workers in the system before heading down the risky path of amalgamation,” he says.

The Canadian PressNovember 27, 2013 17:03

OTTAWA - Health Canada recently approved a generic, addictive form of oxycodone just as U.S. officials were urging their Canadian counterparts to ban such formulations of the powerful painkiller.

Canada NewsWire TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2013

Little or no coordination between health care services provided by governments and health authorities according to new report TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - A new report by the Health Council of Canada says that governments must make a greater effort to collaborate to improve health care for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis seniors. The report, Canada's most vulnerable: Improving health care for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis seniors, shows they often do not receive the same level of health care as non-Aboriginal Canadians because of poor communication, collaboration, and disputes between governments about who is responsible for the care of Aboriginal people.

Regulated health professions are required by law to deliver competent, ethical and professional services, and are accountable to the public through their respective colleges for their professional behaviour and activities.

Fee: $515 + HST

Event Date: 2014/01/27

Hamilton Spectator Thu Nov 28 2013

Looking into the parlous state of its finances, a stark auditor's report this year warned that the OFL might not be able to continue as a "going concern." After decades in existence, the umbrella group represents more than one million workers from 54 unions, but two of the province's biggest - the Ontario Nurses' Association and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union - have pulled out and stopped paying dues in protest.

The Globe and Mail Thu Nov 28 2013

VANCOUVER -- John Furman cannot remember what happened when his 85- year-old roommate was killed at a Vernon, B.C., care facility last August, which is a key reason the Crown has decided not to prosecute the decorated Second World War veteran for murder. On Wednesday, the Crown made explicit a legal sentiment it had expressed early on in the tragic case, which shocked the Okanagan community where 95-year- old Mr. Furman, a widower without any children or known relatives, has lived since 1971.

The Globe and Mail Thu Nov 28 2013

Dr. Brian Cuthbertson, chief of the critical-care department, approaches Thorne's desk to inquire about the newly admitted patients who are under his care but still don't have hospital beds. A social worker comes by to update Thorne about a 14-year-old girl whose mother started slapping her when she learned her daughter was depressed and cutting herself. Security was called to physically remove the girl's mother from the hospital; the social worker has serious concerns about the girl's safety if she is sent home.

Universal Health Coverage: Beyond Rhetoric Posted on November 29, 2013 by admin by Amit Sengupta Municipal Services Project – Occasional Paper, November 2013

This paper raises critical questions around the wide and growing enthusiasm for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Typically defined as a health financing system based on pooling of funds to provide health coverage for a country’s entire population, it often takes the form of a ‘basic package’ of services made available through health insurance and provided by a growing private sector.

Canada’s most vulnerable: Improving health care for First Nations, Inuit and Métis seniors

Newsletter November 27, 2013

The Hospital Employees’ Union says that a robocall campaign launched by Fraser Health on Monday night is highly inappropriate. The automated calls appear to be directed to the home numbers of HEU members who have not yet “self-reported” to their employer on whether or not they have received the flu vaccine for the current flu season.