Equity, diversity, and inclusion are not threats: Canada Research Chair
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
Focus needed on anti-Black racism in health care: Canada Research Chair
“Anti-Black racism continues to affect the lives of Black Canadians, with significant consequences for population health. Black people are disproportionately represented in the justice system, child welfare system, and lower ranks of the economy, while being underrepresented in fields such as medical education. . . A focused approach to addressing anti-Black racism and its health and economic impacts is essential. Sustainable efforts grounded in evidence are needed to improve Canadians’ health and economic prosperity rather than perpetuating white privilege and power,” said Bukola Salami, a full professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, along with Ovie Onagbeboma, and Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, The Hill Times, January 29, 2025
Southern Ontario doctors taking shifts in underserved northern communities
“In general, people like to make more money and work less . . . And they do not like the extreme stress sometimes of working in an emergency room in a rural area, which just by it’s very nature is isolated and you lack supports. . . People want some work-life balance. Even I want it and feel, in a way, a bit trapped, because I know if I leave here, there’s going to be a lot of people without a doctor and there’s a lot of people relying on you . . .Do I consider it? All the time,” said Dr. Kevin O’Connor, a rural generalist with the Manitoulin Central Family Health Team in Mindemoya, ON, CBC News, February 3, 2025
Poor access to tuberculosis antibiotics bad in Canada, worse in Indigenous communities
“Imagine if you’re the patient waiting for those life-saving drugs. . .The TB is still sitting in you doing its thing, and you’re on these older medications which have far more side effects,” said Dr. Elizabeth Rea, a Toronto associate medical officer of health with the tuberculosis program, The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2025
Read the Access to Essential Tuberculosis Medicine in Canada survey here.
Hill Times story casts doubt on future for pharmacare under Poilievre
“The law doesn’t say the government has to cover every drug, or outlaw private drug plans. It does require that the health minister start work toward a national formulary of drugs that “should” be covered under a national pharmacare plan. It also includes typical clauses requiring the government to publish a “strategy” and regular updates on its progress. . . Does all that mean that a Poilievre government could face legal trouble if it decided not to negotiate any pharmacare agreements with the provinces? If so, a few lines in an omnibus bill could be all that is needed to wipe away the Pharmacare Act, and squash the issue,” said Peter Mazereeuw, executive editor, and Riddhi Kachhela, reporter, The Hill Times, January 30, 2025
Slow accreditation process driving medical professionals away
“At some point, I felt that I have no skills, no experience, no knowledge to contribute to Canada. . .(I was) “tired, frustrated [and] disappointed,” said Afghanistan-trained Dr. Palwasha Anwari, a doctor and public health professional, who is leaving Canada after three years to take a job as a health economist with the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office in Cairo, CBC News, January 31, 2025
Former St. John’s Costco warehouse turning into a medical centre
“They will have a better experience and they’ll be seen faster, presumably. . . It will decant some of the pressure from emergency departments, which are under tremendous pressure right now,”” said Greg Browne, a medical director at Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, CTV News, January 31, 2025
Nurse has advice for home care in Ontario
“When I first started to work in the community, nurses and other home-care visits were run out of hospitals … It was simple, and timely, and there was a level of trust in care workers in the community. They ordered what they needed, and the client got it. Twenty-five years ago, I could order from one central supplier, and be assured the delivery would be timely, and correct. This meant IV drugs, pumps, dressing and catheter supplies — all meant to keep people out of hospitals, and ER rooms saving millions of tax dollars. Ontario can save a lot of money and provide more timely delivery of care by reducing the middle layers of management and by trusting their care providers at the home-care level,” said Debra Banfield, RN, Sutton, ON, Toronto Star, February 3, 2025
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