A heading this week in The Guardian was likely welcome news to Islanders concerned about the present and future of health care in the province. The heading said: ‘Relations with Health P.E.I. turning corner: Medical Society leader’.
Although the headline was a bit on the wordy side, the message was a positive one: it seems that Island doctors and the organization overseeing health care in the province are finally getting on the same page. Or at least they are trying to.
Speaking to a Charlottetown service club, Dr. Rachel Kassner, president of the Medical Society of P.E.I., said the relationship between doctors and the new government started off poorly but the situation is improving.
“Many physicians felt slighted by government’s handling of internal issues that became public. I’ve heard anger, resentment and disillusionment about the approach and treatment by government and Health P.E.I.,” she said.
The Medical Society president pointed to progress on a couple of fronts, One was the fact a focus group has been established by Health P.E.I. to review the Hay Group report, which suggested the number of doctors practising on the Island should be drastically lowered. Another irritant is also being worked on. Kassner said Health P.E.I. has promised to review new bylaws that saw doctors put at risk of being reprimanded for speaking out against government actions.
“I can tell you that it now feels like a collaborative approach, with the opinions and views of the profession being valued,” said Dr. Kassner.
Such news is reassuring. It certainly did nothing to help the common Islander’s comfort level when the doctors and Medical Society were at loggerheads. For Prince Edward Island to have as efficient a health care system as possible, all the key players must share a common vision and commitment.
As Dr. Kassner said this week, costs need to be reduced but she said that must happen while the quality of care remains high. She said doctors deserve and want to be involved in streamlining and improving the health-care system.
Both the Medical Society and Health P.E.I. should be congratulated on working to find common ground and goals.
Good news for Island
The City of Charlottetown and the P.E.I. government were big winners in the annual audit that tests the openness of governments across the country. It was a strong showing for the city and province and makes us looks good on the national freedom of information map as P.E.I. joined Nova Scotia and Yukon among the fastest responders.
Newspapers Canada’s National Freedom of Information Audit is the largest and the only annual, live test of the freedom-of-information system in Canada. Hundreds of requests were sent to federal and provincial departments, municipalities and major hospitals on such things as social media policies, communications budgets, details of contracts and credit card expenses. Governments were tested both for the speed and completeness of disclosure.
To no one’s surprise, the worst performance was by federal institutions, although they improved over the year before. Ottawa always seems slow to respond, as it sometimes appears the huge federal bureaucracy is almost immoveable.
The City of Charlottetown got praise for responding to requests even though the municipality is not formally covered by access information in P.E.I. as the capital city fully released information requested in all three instances.
We waited 6 years for a family doctor . To get one and have her leave with in the next year . We can now go back on the list for another 6 years or wait for her replacement in 6 to 7 months, She is gone , but still here on paper until mid Dec. /2011 . replacement if we chose in July 2012. . We are caught between a bolder and a bolder . You can't get referrals to needed specialist and you reports go to no man's land . We are both over 60 and have mutable health issues we were told . There is always walk in clinics , but these doctors do not know you health , and really don't want to as they are for the quick fix ,problems , not to get to know the patient. as a person not just a number . I do believe MR.R. GHIZE , never had to face these problems , i hope he never dose .