Thoughts on reorganizing health care

Winnipeg North

The greatest threat to health care today is not necessarily finances, but rather not recognizing the need to re-organize and manage the changes that are necessary to preserve the type of quality public health-care system that Canadians want and deserve.

The five fundamental principles of the Canada Health Act require billions of dollars in health transfers every year to provinces and guarantee that the federal government remains involved in our national health-care system – but it is provincial governments that are ultimately responsible for the administration of our health-care system.

I would like to be able to make a couple of observations based on my years of being an MLA in the Manitoba legislature, my current role as a member of Parliament and my recent personal experience of having gone to emergency at Grace Hospital.

I went to the Grace because Seven Oaks Hospital does not have an emergency department – it is classified as an urgent care centre. Over the years, we have seen emergency services disappear from Seven Oaks. Now it deals with things like minor injuries, infections, cuts and sprains. What a shame.

The disappearance of Seven Oaks emergency highlights the point of this story. There is no justified reason why Seven Oaks Hospital does not have 24-hour, seven-days-a-week emergency services.

Back in the1990s, health-care professionals and many other stakeholders were arguing how the Seven Oaks hospital emergency facilities were some of the busiest in the province. Ultimately, I believe it was not money that caused Seven Oaks to close its’ emergency department, I believe it was based on biased recommendations acted on by weak political leadership.

My daughter Cindy, who is the MLA for Tyndall Park, reminded me that Manitoba premier Wab Kinew campaigned on reopening emergency services at Seven Oaks Hospital. It’s good news the federal government has put aside billions of dollars to assist provinces in investing in capital projects related to health care. Manitoba will get over $200 million and there will never be a better time for the premier to fulfil that commitment

Having talked to numerous health-care workers and many others over the last number of weeks, my thoughts and beliefs have not changed but, rather, they have been reinforced.

The issue is not the quality of care provided by health-care professionals, but rather the positions our care providers are often put in. Politicians of all stripes and our health-care bureaucracy need to do better in recognizing the need to better manage changes, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a budgeted, long-term plan that reflects a true modernization of our public health-care system?

Canada ‘s public health-care system is a very important part of our identity as a nation. We need to make sure that it is there for future generations.

l am circulating a petition that reflects the essence of this article, and if you’d like more information or a copy of the petition, please contact me by emailing kevin@mpkevin.ca .