Tories To Announce Wait-Times Promise

[jdobbin]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...03?hub=Politics

The March budget provided $612 million for provinces and Ottawa to fulfil a somewhat reduced promise: a care guarantee in one treatment area rather than all five priority areas - cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and sight restoration - initially outlined.

So does this sound like a promise kept or batting one of five guarantees and the ball is still in their air?

[blueblood]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...03?hub=Politics

The March budget provided $612 million for provinces and Ottawa to fulfil a somewhat reduced promise: a care guarantee in one treatment area rather than all five priority areas - cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and sight restoration - initially outlined.

So does this sound like a promise kept or batting one of five guarantees and the ball is still in their air?

the tory webpage says they're making grounds on that promise, but I think they're moving very slowly on it, one area at a time. Hey it's better than nothing.

[Canuck E Stan]

the tory webpage says they're making grounds on that promise, but I think they're moving very slowly on it, one area at a time. Hey it's better than nothing.

Wanna bet no matter how good or bad it is, Dion will always think it's bad? ..........and who was it that wants an election ......sooner than later?

[jdobbin]

the tory webpage says they're making grounds on that promise, but I think they're moving very slowly on it, one area at a time. Hey it's better than nothing.

You think the promise is kept then? I thought it was five areas, not one.

[jdobbin]

Wanna bet no matter how good or bad it is, Dion will always think it's bad? ..........and who was it that wants an election ......sooner than later?

Wanna bet that it won't just be the Liberals that say that this announcement falls way short of what they said in the election?

[Keepitsimple]

It's a start...but it's a long haul. Delivery of healthcare services is a Provincial responsibility so all the Feds can do is offer incentives for key areas along with some coordination and hope that the Provinces see a political upside to cooperating - especially in view of the Charter court ruling in Quebec that gave Quebec one year to clean up their act - or else. That ruling, while specifically for Quebec, obviously exposes the other provinces to similar rulings.

[blueblood]

the tory webpage says they're making grounds on that promise, but I think they're moving very slowly on it, one area at a time. Hey it's better than nothing.

You think the promise is kept then? I thought it was five areas, not one.

I'll say it's a promise kept, he's working on it and getting some results. In a country with as many programs as ours it's hard to afford these things and not run a deficit.

[Canuck E Stan]

Wanna bet that it won't just be the Liberals that say that this announcement falls way short of what they said in the election?

Wanna bet the Liberals don't have a clue as to fixing the problem.....not even a little bit.

After all these years,starting with Finance Minister Martin slashing $$$ to Healthcare, the Libs are heavy on damage, short on repair.

But unlike the others opposition, the Libs should have a solution(should have solved the issue years ago,if they were so damn smart)and like all their answers it involves "if we had more time then,we could have solved the problem".

Dion has no solution,only a overwhelming desire to get in power.

For Dion being PM is only a pipe dream, he''ll never see it.

Dion will reject anything from the Cons,just for the sake of rejecting.

Hope the Libs are setting up their next convention date for a new leader.

This one's a dud.

[jdobbin]

Wanna bet the Liberals don't have a clue as to fixing the problem.....not even a little bit.

After all these years,starting with Finance Minister Martin slashing $$$ to Healthcare, the Libs are heavy on damage, short on repair.

But unlike the others opposition, the Libs should have a solution(should have solved the issue years ago,if they were so damn smart)and like all their answers it involves "if we had more time then,we could have solved the problem".

Dion has no solution,only a overwhelming desire to get in power.

For Dion being PM is only a pipe dream, he''ll never see it.

Dion will reject anything from the Cons,just for the sake of rejecting.

Hope the Libs are setting up their next convention date for a new leader.

This one's a dud.

I actually don't think wait times is the responsibility of the Feds.

I think the provinces have been given money as part of transfers, equalization and through special funds but they have often used them for purposes other than reducing wait times.

The Liberals never made such a promise even when the election might have gone their way had they pledged to do so.

[Canuck E Stan]

The Liberals never made such a promise even when the election might have gone their way had they pledged to do so.

.......and Finance Minister Martin never reduced healthcare $$$.

Ah, the old Liberal bait and switch.......healthcare,yes.......but we never actually said we would do anything about wait times.

[August1991]

This is all speculative, as the following CTV quote (link above) makes plain:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to address a conference on wait times Wednesday, and bets are that he will announce the fulfilment of his election promise on medical wait-time guarantees.

Organizers of the Taming of the Queue conference, an annual meeting in Ottawa on wait times, had expected an appearance by Health Minister Tony Clement but the surprise visit by Harper suggests political news in the offing.

The Conservative Party basic policy is that provinces should have to offer, if necessary, out-of-province treatment to meet wait-times.

The idea is that if provincial governments have to pay for treatment abroad, they'll have an incentive to fix their health systems. IOW, health care is a provincial jurisdiction but the provinces require a dose of reality.

Canada's health care system is Soviet. Bureaucrats decide using forms, priority lists and special cases. Harper, Gorbachev-style, wanted to introduce a dose of the free-market. Harper's idea was to make the bureaucrats send patients "abroad" if the wait is too long.

The bureaucrats will probably find a way around this federal intervention into their way of doing things. Measuring queues is neither an art nor a science. Queues are a creation of bureaucracy and bureaucrats have many, many ways to measure how long people have to wait.

I admire Harper's idea but I think it won't work. Harper's like Gorbachev.

[Michael Bluth]

The Liberals never made such a promise even when the election might have gone their way had they pledged to do so.

.......and Finance Minister Martin never reduced healthcare $$$.

Ah, the old Liberal bait and switch.......healthcare,yes.......but we never actually said we would do anything about wait times.

And the Liberals didn't make a health wait times guarantee even though the election *might* have gone their way had they pledged to do so???

Who is he trying to kid?

The Liberals didn't make a Healthcare wait times guarantee because they were so lacking for policy thinking to come up with it? They were so desperate for a policy home run Paul Martin feebly tried his "notwithstanding clause" stunt.

[jdobbin]

.......and Finance Minister Martin never reduced healthcare $$$.

Ah, the old Liberal bait and switch.......healthcare,yes.......but we never actually said we would do anything about wait times.

The Liberals ended the deficit. They also reduced healthcare spending but when Martin became prime minister, he restored funding specifically for healthcare only to see provinces bank the money or not spend it on healthcare.

[Canuck E Stan]

The Liberals ended the deficit. They also reduced healthcare spending but when Martin became prime minister, he restored funding specifically for healthcare only to see provinces bank the money or not spend it on healthcare.

They also reduced healthcare spending but when Martin became prime minister

Too much damage done,too little to repair the damage done.....but...Surplus after surplus after surplus.

only to see provinces bank the money or not spend it on healthcare.

Cutback after cutback to the provinces all those years when there was surplus after surplus after surplus.

Did I mention that during the cutbacks there were a hell of a lot of surpluses?

Ah,surpluses,now those were proud moments for the Liberals.

[jdobbin]

Cutback after cutback to the provinces all those years when there was surplus after surplus after surplus.

Did I mention that during the cutbacks there were a hell of a lot of surpluses?

Ah,surpluses,now those were proud moments for the Liberals.

Provinces were cutting taxes and not spending it on heathcare wait times. Proud moments from many a province run by Tories.

[geoffrey]

The most refreshing policy Harper could implement is to shut down Health Canada, leave it all up to the provinces and cut the respective amount of taxes... letting the provinces take up the slack.

I've come to expect that the Federal government cannot do anything on Health. It's only got worse and worse.

Having Harper through more money at a system that died long ago is pointless. If it's not a complete reform, I'm disinterested in any additional monies. You won't see a result.

[Argus]

.......and Finance Minister Martin never reduced healthcare $$$.

Ah, the old Liberal bait and switch.......healthcare,yes.......but we never actually said we would do anything about wait times.

The Liberals ended the deficit. They also reduced healthcare spending but when Martin became prime minister, he restored funding specifically for healthcare only to see provinces bank the money or not spend it on healthcare.

The end of the American recession ended the deficit. The Liberals were simply in power at that time. Martin continued to starve health care long after the Liberals had budget surpluses because he didn't care. He, Chretien, and the rest of the senior Liberals were all wealthy and had private access to immediate care. So long as the polls showed them well in front of the opposition they simply did not care what happened to health care, and did not do anything about it but make mouth noises.

That being said, I do not think the Conservatives have made much of a dent in the problems of health care. I would like to see more effort on their part in this direction. I acknowledge, however, that the reworking the system needs is virtually impossible in a minority, especially where most of the rest of the House is committed to the status quo.

[Argus]

Cutback after cutback to the provinces all those years when there was surplus after surplus after surplus.

Did I mention that during the cutbacks there were a hell of a lot of surpluses?

Ah,surpluses,now those were proud moments for the Liberals.

Provinces were cutting taxes and not spending it on heathcare wait times. Proud moments from many a province run by Tories.

The only province that was Tory and cutting taxes was Ontario, and they still increased health care funding. Health care in Alberta and Ontario is in better shape than in socialist Quebec.

[jdobbin]

The only province that was Tory and cutting taxes was Ontario, and they still increased health care funding. Health care in Alberta and Ontario is in better shape than in socialist Quebec.

I think you better check back because there were quite a few provinces cutting taxes at exactly the same time more funding was coming into the provinces to address things like diagnostic machinery. Many of those provinces sat on the cash or cut taxes instead.

[jdobbin]

The end of the American recession ended the deficit. The Liberals were simply in power at that time. Martin continued to starve health care long after the Liberals had budget surpluses because he didn't care. He, Chretien, and the rest of the senior Liberals were all wealthy and had private access to immediate care. So long as the polls showed them well in front of the opposition they simply did not care what happened to health care, and did not do anything about it but make mouth noises.

That being said, I do not think the Conservatives have made much of a dent in the problems of health care. I would like to see more effort on their part in this direction. I acknowledge, however, that the reworking the system needs is virtually impossible in a minority, especially where most of the rest of the House is committed to the status quo.

What a load of BS.

I think Mulroney had some great years of economic growth and made next to no progress on the deficit. Why couldn't he do something about the deficit? Because he didn't care. He was more concerned with long constitutional talks that ultimately broke up his party and sent the Tories into a long tailspin downward until this year. Nicely done.

[Topaz]

Cutback after cutback to the provinces all those years when there was surplus after surplus after surplus.

Did I mention that during the cutbacks there were a hell of a lot of surpluses?

Ah,surpluses,now those were proud moments for the Liberals.

Provinces were cutting taxes and not spending it on heathcare wait times. Proud moments from many a province run by Tories.

Until both level of governments get more doctors and more nurses and more beds available, wait times will stay were they are.

[jdobbin]

Until both level of governments get more doctors and more nurses and more beds available, wait times will stay were they are.

I think you're exactly right about that. Still a bit of a wait to get more doctors and nurses into the system.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories

Patient wait-time guarantees will be ineffective without enough doctors and nurses, according to the president of the Canadian Medical Association.

"The bottom line is, you can have all the benchmarks and all the standards, but unless you have the professionals in place to do the job, it won't be done," Dr. Colin McMillan told CTV's Mike Duffy Live.

[guyser]

Patient wait-time guarantees will be ineffective without enough doctors and nurses, according to the president of the Canadian Medical Association.

"The bottom line is, you can have all the benchmarks and all the standards, but unless you have the professionals in place to do the job, it won't be done," Dr. Colin McMillan told CTV's Mike Duffy Live.

Shame he didnt tell the truth. Guess he forgot that the CMA is the one preventing cab drivers from showcasing their medical degrees to get a job as a Doc in Canada.

Most outlying areas are the spots that have Dr shortage. Now I am no brainiac (quiet you in the back) but I have an idea. Give these men and women a shot at getting certified , hell even short list them through the red tape with a mandate that they move at least 100KM from a major urban setting for a period of no less than five years. That way they may come to love living there and stay.

Better yet, have the CMA place them in spots they know have shortages, just like the OPP and RCMP do.

Ok you...off to Owen Sound, you over there, you will practice in Kapuskasing, and so on.

[hiti]

Then...

Liberals offer guaranteed health-care wait times

http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2006/01/04/Ma...are-060104.html

Waiting for the Cure

In September 2004, promising to "fix medicare for a generation," Prime Minister Paul Martin pledged $41.5 billion to the provinces over 10 years to hire more doctors and nurses, and find smarter ways to reduce the increasingly long waiting lists that were undermining Canadian support of the health-care system.

http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/realitycheck/wait_times.html

Now....

All provinces to provide wait-time guarantees in one area

Harper, who spoke to medical professionals at a conference in Ottawa, said the provinces and territories will provide the guarantees by drawing upon more than $1 billion allocated in the March federal budget.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/04/04/wait-times.html

So now we have Harper announcing that cause he is so wonderful, by 2010 Manitobans will only have to wait four weeks to get radiation therapy. Except that Manitoba has been working on this problem since 1990 and their cancer patients often are being treated within one week. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto.../BNStory/cancer

So Steve to the rescue for cancer patients in Manitoba. Under his supreme leadership cancer patients in Manitoba will soon only have to wait four weeks for their treatment. LOLOLOL

[Charles Anthony]

So does this sound like a promise kept or batting one of five guarantees and the ball is still in their air?

I think it was a stupid campaign promise but that is what people wanted to hear.