Hospital emergency rooms in Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Alert Bay have repeatedly closed over the past four months due to critical shortages of doctors and nurses.
Article author:
Article content
NDP whip Rachel Blaney, on her horseback ride across the North Island and Powell River in B.C., cites repeated and lengthy emergency room closures as asking the federal government for funding to address the country’s health crisis. I am asking you to increase the
advertising 2
Article content
Hospital emergency rooms in Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Alert Bay have closed repeatedly over the past four months due to severe shortages of doctors and nurses, Blaney said. .
Article content
In October alone, Port Hardy ER, which serves several remote communities, was subject to seven overnight or multi-day closures, including overnight closures of emergency departments in Alert Bay ferry-dependent communities. was installed in early August.
“North Island residents are very concerned that emergency rooms aren’t there when they need them,” Blaney said, adding that staffing shortages are widespread across the country.
“Rural communities are being left behind by underfunding of health care by both Conservative and Liberal governments.”
advertising 3
Article content
In addition to significant and long-term funding increases, the federal government must reduce bureaucracy so that nationally and internationally trained health care workers can work anywhere in Canada.
The country needs an additional 50,000 long-term care workers, and the federal government must take steps to fulfill its promise to fund mental health and get a national dental program off the ground.
“Right now I hear the minister talking about a 10% increase in medical transfer funds, but I don’t think that’s enough,” Blaney said.
But increased funding should not simply be a blank check handed to states, said Dr. Arika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association.
Advertising 4
Article content
“The system needs more money, it’s obvious,” he said.
“But that additional funding must be tied to system changes, or we will be stuck in the same cycle that has been going on for years and years.”
The costs associated with the pandemic, rising inflation, and a growing elderly population with chronic health conditions will reduce the value of Canada’s health transfers, which cover approximately 22% of health care costs. States and territories are responsible for the rest.
Premiers want the federal government to cover up to 35% of the burden.
But Lafontaine said it also requires cooperation between both levels of government on key aspects of the system. These include increasing patient access to and spending time with physicians, helping people navigate the system, reducing the administrative burden on physicians, and ensuring virtual consultations are effective and meaningful. includes doing.
Advertising 5
Article content
“We know these work,” Lafontaine said. “The question is, do you ultimately choose those things?”
The state’s demands for Ottawa to dramatically increase healthcare spending without any conditions, including not seeking cooperation on specific reforms, national standards or measurable outcomes, are disingenuous, says British says Steve Morgan, professor of health policy at Columbia University.
Canada’s prime minister misrepresents history by suggesting that Ottawa once funded 50% of health care. According to Morgan, the levels were provided after the war to establish the health care system, including national standards.
Federal transfers, which typically cover hospital care and doctor services, are higher than they’ve been in 30 years, he said, with states conveniently ignoring the massive infusion of federal relief for COVID. He added that there are
Advertising 6
Article content
When questioned by Blaney in parliament last week, Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos pointed out that the Liberal government had recently added $2 billion to address surgical wait times that had piled up during the pandemic.
Morgan says the federal government is likely to provide significant funding for needed drug pharmacies, home health care for the elderly, or long-term care costs if states accept the concept of national standards.
British Columbia, in particular, recently announced a surplus of $1.3 billion for 2021-2022, but Morgan said the health system’s problems cannot simply be blamed on underfunding.
“British Columbia is running a surplus, but says it can’t afford to solve its health care problems without new federal funding. ‘Both can’t be true.'”
advertising 7
Article content
States should work with the federal government to set specific goals for access to doctors and quality, multidisciplinary health care services, Morgan said.
But the “stalemate” in transfer payments between states and federal governments is decades old and requires a paradigm shift, Morgan said.
“All Canadians are fed up with the health care system on which our friends and family rely, essentially being held hostage in negotiations over transfers.
“States that have the means to do so need to show leadership on how to fix them.”
Rochelle Baker is a reporter for the National Observer.
More news, less ads: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, get unlimited add-on access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Subscribe now and support us: The Vancouver Sun |
