Splitting pills, skipping doses cannot continue: Jagmeet Singh
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
NDP supports government motion to speed up pharmacare bill
“As you know, Canadians are facing a cost-of-living crisis, and this crisis has real impacts on people’s health. Nearly one-in-four Canadians have reported splitting pills, skipping doses, or deciding to not fill or renew vital prescription medications due to their high costs. This cannot continue . . . While big pharmaceutical and insurance companies are making huge profits, surely Canadians shouldn’t have to continue to pay amongst the highest prices in the world for their medications,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in a letter to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, throwing NDP support behind a government motion to speed up passage of pharmacare legislation, to iPolitics, May 6, 2024
Pharmacare can’t leave children behind
“We need to make sure children’s health needs and fundamental rights are not forgotten in these big moments of progress in Canadian health care. Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states: ‘The child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health care, with emphasis on primary health care, the development of preventive health care.’. .Ignoring the needs of children results in an unhealthy society. Children are not just our future, they are our today, and they have the right to have access to care,” wrote Dr. Sarah Gander, a New Brunswick pediatrician and board chair of NB Social Pediatrics Inc., in the NB Media Co-op, May 7, 2024
Docs need tools to fight rare diseases
“Most industrialized nations have recognized the seriousness and special aspects of the more than 7,000 known rare diseases, like pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and are clearly ahead of Canada in directly supporting initiatives to improve access to care, including diagnosis and medical treatment. . . I join PHA Canada in calling on the federal government to prioritize the health of Canadians affected by PAH and other rare diseases, starting with the release of the promised federal funds to the provinces and territories for medicines to treat these conditions,” said Dr. Sanjay Mehta, professor of medicine at the University of Western Ontario and director of the Southwest Ontario Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic at the London Health Sciences Centre, to the Hill Times, May 6, 2024
The kids are not alright: report calls for children’s health officer
“This is someone who would be more than an advocate . . .This is someone who would be deeply familiar with — and understand how — children’s health systems are structured in the Canadian context, be very familiar with the challenges that we’re facing in the children’s population and would be a catalyst … to really affect meaningful change,” said Emily Gruenwoldt, president & CEO of Children’s Healthcare Canada, to the Toronto Star, May 6, 2024
Can the NDP make the right moves for health care in Manitoba?
“It’s a priority for me and my government that every Manitoban who accesses an emergency room gets the care that is needed. . . It’s important we listen. . . Our top priority is staffing the health-care system and making sure every bed has a nurse at the bedside … it’s feedback from people like Janice who give us the feedback to help us improve health care,” said Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, after hearing recent patient emergency.
“It is imperative that adequate staffing be in place in ERs to help patients in need and prevent critical incidents from taking place,” added Molly McCracken, interim spokesperson for the Manitoba Health Coalition to the Winnipeg Free Press, May 7, 2024
Poor compensation, inadequate staff relief and lack of safety cited in report
“The people who take care of the most vulnerable groups in Canada are often left behind when it comes to compensation, adequate staff relief, and lack of safety. These people put their all into ensuring the well-being of others, such as those with disabilities, and more often than not, the poor working conditions they face drive career changes. . . Those belonging to diverse communities, such as racialized, Indigenous, and LGBTQ2S+ care providers, reported an increase in negative experiences with caring when compared to those who don’t belong to these groups. Racialized caregivers reported financial hardship at a rate of almost 50 per cent, whereas those not in this group reported the same hardship, but at a lower rate of 34 per cent,” stated a report released by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE), May 3, 2024
On the other hand, the Government of Canada wants to improve supports and resources
“We recognize that many nurses continue to experience unprecedented work-related stress and burnout, as well as long hours and staffing shortages. This is leading some nurses to quit their jobs, and in some cases, leave the profession altogether. The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening Canada’s health care system by providing nurses with improved supports and resources,” said Federal Health Minister Mark Holland in a government media release, May 6, 2024
Private equity in health care lining investors’ pockets
“Companies are bought and held just long enough to make the whole enterprise more profitable and then they’re flipped for a higher price” to another company . . .It’s kind of like house flipping, except it’s corporate consolidation,” said Economist Armine Yalnizian to CBC News, May 6, 2024
“At the moment, one single private equity investment firm owns the company that owns 14 of our surgical centres across Canada,” added Karen Palmer, a health policy researcher and analyst at Simon Fraser University, to CBC News, May 6, 2024
Black youth face barriers to mental health care
“Black youth experience the mental health system very differently than other races. . . That is in part due to anti-Black racism and implicit biases,” said Dr. Mojola Omole, president of the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario and a general surgeon, at a recent conference of family doctors, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other health care providers, to Global News, May 4, 2024
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