More money won’t solve the systemic, pervasive, and structural issues that plague Canadian health care
Hospital staffing in Ontario is in crisis – as it is in Alberta, British Columbia, and the rest of Canada. Provinces are responding with what they perceive as solutions: Ontario is fast-tracking foreign-trained nurses, and Alberta has made the interprovincial movement of professionals easier. But while these moves will help reduce the red tape surrounding…
Former B.C. deputy minister of health Lawrie McFarlane’s July 24 commentary on the “Cambie Surgery Centre ruling” (a descriptive that ignores two cancer patients and three children who were co-plaintiffs) contained some valid commentary. The crisis we now face in our health system is there for all to see and observe. Notably, McFarlane offers no solutions.…
It’s time to stop talking about money and start talking about changing health care
It has been a revealing week for Canadian health care and what we have witnessed is not good. In Fredericton, NB, a senior passed away while waiting for care at a hospital emergency department. A witness noted that the man was “clearly in discomfort,” yet it wasn’t enough to gain the attention of health-care workers.…
Drastic changes are needed. Millions of Canadians on wait lists know that. Why don't politicians?
Drastic changes are needed if we are to repair the Canadian health-care system. Millions of Canadians waiting for medically-necessary surgeries and procedures already know that. It’s time for the rest of us to catch up and start advocating for change. At least five million Canadians are without a family doctor. More than one million Canadians…
Yusef Yousuf’s dream is to serve Toronto’s immigrant communities as a family doctor
When Yusef Yousuf was 10, he had a health scare that set him on a path to improve medicine. He was playing soccer at lunch with his friends and took a tumble, fracturing his arm below the shoulder. His mother rushed him to the local hospital, where the doctor noticed something unusual on the X-ray:…
When it comes to fixing health care, governance matters more than policy
Few voters had first-hand experience with hallway medicine or Canada’s world-famous wait times before the pandemic. Lockdowns changed everything. Health policy failure moved from fear-filled headlines into a tangible crisis everyone could feel. Failure begs for better, or even new policy, to fill gaps. Planners and policy writers jump to offer solutions: surgicenters, funding reallocation,…
The pandemic clearly taught us that Canada’s health-care system needs to reform
Indigenous communities across Canada should learn from an Alberta First Nation that’s establishing a private health clinic to provide services that will reduce the pressure on the public system. The Alberta government recently approved a plan by the Enoch Cree Nation, close to Edmonton, to build a private clinic specializing in hip and knee surgeries.…
More than 20 per cent of Quebecers currently don’t have a family doctor
By Krystle Wittevrongel and Maria Lily Shaw Quebec’s health-care system is suffering from poor accessibility. More than 20 per cent of Quebecers currently don’t have a family doctor. The overcrowding of hospital emergency wards and the long wait times that result are also notorious. A key to improving the health system’s capacity is to address…
The evidence is overwhelming: Canada needs more doctors
The coronavirus pandemic has accomplished what a multitude of government reports could not – that is, to draw Canadians’ attention to a faltering health-care system characterized by a chronic shortage of beds, overflowing emergency departments, and limited numbers of surgical personnel and operating suites. The flaws have been there for decades, but willful blindness on…
Government, medical professionals, and public-sector unions each hold veto power over any innovation
The Honorable Monique Begin wrote in 2009, “When it comes to moving health care practices forward efficiently, Canada is a country of perpetual pilot projects.” Governments need “financial control” and remain “leery” of committing to programs. Pilot programs are easy to shut down “to avoid criticism” or if “budget priorities shift.” At first glance, we…
Hospital staffing in Ontario is in crisis – as it is in Alberta, British Columbia, and the rest of Canada. Provinces are responding with what they perceive as solutions: Ontario is fast-tracking foreign-trained nurses, and Alberta has made the interprovincial movement of professionals easier. But while these moves will help reduce the red tape surrounding…
