Preventable negligence resulted in unnecessary deaths: long-term care advocate
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
Class-action lawsuit to proceed against for-profit long-term care for pandemic fatalities
“I have been vehemently against the profit motive in long-term care. They had the vast majority of deaths (during the pandemic). They were clearly shown in numerous investigations to fail compared to the non-profits. . . I just really hope that, you know, when they (class-action plaintiffs) have their day in court, that they establish what we all saw unfold, which was this massive, widespread, often-preventable negligence that resulted in far too many unnecessary deaths, and just trauma that will live with these families for the rest of their lives,” said Vivian Stamatopoulos, a long-term care advocate, professor and researcher at Ontario Tech University, to CBC News, March 14, 2024
Welcome to Travelodge Hospital? Alberta patient transferred by taxi from hospital to motel
“It’s highway healthcare ending up at motel medicine . . . It’s a sign that the management of our healthcare is in great crisis and that we need more beds, publicly-run beds in Edmonton. . . The guidelines are clearly ridiculous and need to be redone,” said Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley.
“”We want to make sure everybody ends up in a safe space,” said Jason Nixon, Alberta Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, to CBC News Edmonton, March 19, 2024
Manitoba heart patients need better access to public health care
“We have an opportunity here to build capacity within the public system. And certainly that’s what we believe is the best approach towards solving this problem; it’s more cost-effective, there’s more accountability, and it provides better connected and coordinated care which really, really matters for patients and providers,” said Jason Linklater, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, Winnipeg Free Press, March 19, 2024
New Brunswick Liberals admit they blew it with privatization
“I’d want to . . .make sure that there isn’t a profit being extracted from the delivery of those services . . . I haven’t been a Liberal for a long time. And so I hope (voters) give us a chance to demonstrate the change and the refresh that I’m bringing to the party and the positions that we’re taking,” said New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt to the NB Media Co-op, March 14, 2024
Manitoba NDP won’t change Filipino health worker program
“We welcome and thank all of them for joining our health-care team here in Manitoba, but that is markedly short of the target that the previous PC government set . . . We are keeping this program open. .We are welcoming folks from the Philippines to join our health-care team in Manitoba,” said Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara to the Winnipeg Free Press, March 14, 2024
Federal Health Minister promises better health care in Saskatchewan
“Canadians deserve to get they health care they need, no matter their age or where they live. By working together with the province of Saskatchewan, these agreements will reduce wait times, make it easier to see a doctor, and ensure our seniors can age with dignity. Tailored to Saskatchewan’s unique needs, this funding focuses on what matters most: better health care for the people of Saskatchewan,” said Federal Health Minister Mark Holland, Government of Canada media release, March 18, 2024
For-profit care home to be replaced by condo, a real estate trend?
“A search on the Toronto Central website found the seven for-profit facilities with licences set to expire in 2025 provide a combined 1,100 beds. These are older homes that would require their owners to invest a lot of capital to meet required upgrades by 2025. Or their owners could generate a lot of capital, by selling the properties to developers hungry for land to build more condos. . .Many of the properties are real estate gold mines, located in some of the most affluent neighbourhoods of the downtown core. Why shouldn’t these owners choose condos over care? They’re for-profit businesses, after all, not charities. . . Business is business; but the business of taking care of each other is getting harder, especially if we lose more than 1,600 long-term-care beds while struggling with a current wait-list of 31,000 people, just as the population of the elderly booms,” wrote Armine Yalnizyan, a leading voice in Canada’s economic scene and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers to the Toronto Star, March 15, 2024
“Wellness Together Canada” to shut down after four years
“I was so upset. I remember where I was sitting and just the feeling that washed over me. It was scary . . .People who need that service, it’s like everybody is just being completely invalidated. . . “If [the federal government is] saying that the provinces are able to step in and meet that need, then the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has a responsibility . . .This is, in my opinion, devastating for Newfoundland and Labrador, and all of Canada,” said Kristi Allan, one of many users of Wellness Together Canada since its launch in April, 2020, to support those with declining mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador, March 19, 2024
New technology and the Emergency Department – how does that work?
“We don’t want to see patients virtually who are having heart attacks or strokes or experiencing significant trauma. . . Historically, the right place has been within the four walls of the hospital Emergency Department, but we do know that for a significant proportion of patients, the right place could be their home or another location more convenient for them. . . A specific time slot means you can plan for that. You’re not waiting around for three, four or five hours … with this uncertainty of when you’ll be seen,” said Dr. Sameer Masood, an emergency physician and virtual care lead, to the Toronto Star, March 16, 2024
Contracting out nursing grows in Saskatchewan
“We’ve been talking for quite some time about the overuse of agency nurses and the amount of money that we keep spending on them keeps growing and growing. . . whilst the government might be talking about this being a short-term solution, they’re doing nothing to change that,” said Saskatchewan Union of Nurses President Tracy Zambory, CBC News, March 14, 2024
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