Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
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A TRAGEDY THAT DIDN’T NEED TO HAPPEN: The Pandemic in Long-term Care: A View from Ottawa
Friday, January 29th, 2021
This is what we need: national care standards for long-term care, with residents’ rights equal to those mandated by provisions in the Canada Health Act; a national healthcare labour-force strategy for the recruitment and retention of care staff, especially PSWs; and, an increase in health care funding to the provinces that is tied to improving long-term care. A large majority of Canadians are in favour of eliminating profit-taking from health care.
Tags: Health, housing, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Mental health crisis teams are a first step to ending tragic deaths
Thursday, January 28th, 2021
People calling for help in the midst of a medical crisis need appropriate help, not an armed response. Not only are police not needed for the vast majority of mental health crisis calls, they have proven, time and again, that they don’t have the right skills for them… A team of specially trained civilians is clearly the better response. But these crisis teams are not a magic bullet to ending bad experiences and tragic deaths of people in the throes of a mental health crisis at the hands of police… people need access to mental health services, not just a more successful response to a crisis call.
Tags: ideology, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
A broader vision of public health
Wednesday, January 27th, 2021
If we learn anything from COVID-19, it should be that we need a more comprehensive version of public health that acts on what we know about the social determinants of well-being… Here’s our three-step plan. 1. Identify the contours of an integrated, coherent vision of public health… 2. Co-ordinate the wider public health vision across political jurisdictions… 3. Work from the ground up to uncouple “health” from “health care.”
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, Indigenous, jurisdiction, participation, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Ontario adding mental health beds in 16 hospitals as COVID-19 takes a toll
Monday, January 25th, 2021
Ontario is adding mental health beds in 16 hospitals to cope with increased demand and will increase funding for a seniors’ help line as pandemic lockdowns continue under the state of emergency and stay-at-home orders… The new beds account for most of the $12 million set aside for the expansions in mental health services, which include $130,000 for the Seniors Safety Line to hire and train more operators to meet higher volumes of calls to their toll-free number 1-866-299-1011.
Tags: budget, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
‘Total rethink’ of long-term-care home design needed in the wake of COVID-19, experts urge
Monday, January 18th, 2021
… alternatives that don’t involve retrofits or new buildings also need to be explored… “Money can go to home health care … and with telemedicine, more and more people can be safely and appropriately supported at home… “much less expensive options like assisted living, or independent living with some support services. They are cheaper, yet not generally supported with public funds. “It’s finding the right mix of options, most of which are less expensive than well-done, skilled nursing facilities”
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, housing, ideology, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Bare-knuckle capitalism has no place in nursing homes
Thursday, January 14th, 2021
Over the past decade, Chartwell has distributed $798 million to shareholders and paid its executives $47.3 million, including an annual salary of $229,500 for the former premier’s part-time chairmanship, which he still holds. Mike Harris’ involvement in the dubious rise of privatization — and financialization — in the long-term care industry makes it all the more outrageous that the Ford government recently awarded him the Order of Ontario, even as the pandemic continues…
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The doctor is online: COVID-19 let the technological revolution finally find its way to Canadian health care. Now, the hard part begins
Sunday, January 3rd, 2021
Due more to systemic inertia than technological lag, Canadian doctors are only now arriving to the technological age… provinces need to be asking questions about how to build a regulatory environment around virtual care — one that sets standards for virtual care that are at the same level as in-person care, and ensures patient data is protected.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Enough is enough: We demand change to the inhumane tragedy playing out in Ontario’s long-term care homes
Friday, January 1st, 2021
Since the pandemic began, some 87 per cent of all COVID deaths in Ontario have been among those over the age of 70, and about 61 per cent of deaths have been in long-term care facilities… In the coming days, we will be asking all Ontarians to sign an open letter to responsible city, provincial and federal authorities demanding an end to the inhumane treatment and needless death of our vulnerable elders.
Tags: Health, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
A broader vision of public health
Thursday, December 31st, 2020
Lying beneath the weakening of public health practice, which one can think of as the tip of the iceberg, is an erosion of these deeper values and priorities… [collectivity / social justice / upstream thinking] … The erosion manifests as cuts to the public sector, solutions packaged in individualized terms, and a deepening political polarization that erodes societal assets such as trust.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The best available science supports allowing family and caregivers into hospitals, not restricting them
Thursday, December 31st, 2020
COVID-19 has been the focus of historically intense study. And reviewing this literature suggests that at most, hospital visitors play a small role in disease transmission… family and caregivers… facilitate communication and decision-making, and act as patient advocates and substitute decision-makers when patients are no longer capable… The risk-benefit ratio of existing science now clearly favours allowing family and caregivers to visit hospitalized patients. It’s also the humane thing to do.
Tags: Health, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
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