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28 economist suntribune health care thursday may 23 2002 we need political leadership hospital head says by lisa queen staff writer lack of political leadership has created a crisis in health care by allowing the status quo to block reforms needed to overhaul the system a york region symposium on medicare heard last week my sense is we need leader ship pure and simple frank lussing president of york central hospital told the three dozen peo ple who attended the meeting organized by oak ridges mp bryon wufert to gather public opinion for the federal commission on the future of health care we dont want to dance differ ent political tunes every time there is a new government the system is more important than that we either need to reaffirm or redesign our vision of health care mr lussing said ontario hospi tals need almost 1 billion in addi tional funding this year just to maintain existing services another 7 billion in capital fund ing is required to expand or mod ernize hospital facilities but he acknowledged taxpayers cant continue to keep pace with that demand we cant add 1 billion year after year after year after year to the hospital system he said adding proper leadership would frank lussing we dont want to dance different tunes every time there is a new government ensure funding was better spent we probably have enough money in the system right now if we were to spend it right mr lussing and two other health care experts york centrals chief of emergency medi cine dr nalin ahluwalia and shirlee sharkey president of markhambased saint elizabeth health care centre and pastpresi dent of the registered nurses association of ontario described a bleak future for health care without intervention although canadians continue to identify health care as their top priority mr lussing said the sys tem struggles under severe fund ing pressures crippling staff short ages and a growing and aging pop ulation with increasing expecta tions for care dr ahluwalia said problems visible in emergency departments long waiting times ambulances turned away an inability to admit patients are the tip of the ice berg of challenges throughout the whole system we have a crisis on our hands its increasingly difficult to pro vide emergency care in high growth communities dr ahluwalia said adding severe bed and staff shortages are making an already bad situation worse he said hes tired of hearing politicians blame each other or falsely accusing patients of abus ing the system lets stop the blaming and work together he pleaded ms sharkey insisted troubles plaguing the health care system will never be resolved until politi cians invest enough in community care to allow patients with chronic and terminal illnesses to receive care in their homes at the moment she said home care across canada is a dogs breakfast because each province bryon wilfert provincial politi cians are misleading public about federal health care funding cuts is responsible for the service because community care is not a mandatory service with national standards many patients fear leav ing the hospital where medical care is guaranteed for fear they would receive less care at home that means acute care beds in hospitals are taken up by patients who would be better served at home ms sharkey said she called on ottawa to pass legislation enacting canadians right to home care the law would mirror the canada health act set ting national standards and canadians rights to access ms sharkey also called on ottawa to place a moratorium on further privatization of health care in canada she argued the united states has the highest percapita medical costs in the world even though 30 million americans have no health coverage at all her plea was echoed by pamela smith executive director of hospice richmond hill she condemned politicians who put tax cuts above peoples needs ms smith said taxation has pro vided canadians with a quality of life that shines above other coun tries if you think youre going to get a better system in the us youre wrong meanwhile mr wilfert who maintained provincial politicians are misleading the public when they accuse ottawa of slashing health care funding said federal liberals are working to stop mis spending of government health dollars for example he said his party is working with the provinces to streamline the approval process for prescription drugs by the end of the year assorted energizer batteries with star wars bonus offer reg 429 899pkg targus computer case with bonus cooler case reg 15999each palm m125 handheld with bonus 16 mb sd card charge n go cellphone recharger half price 499 with any 25 purchase batteries not included cross ion gel pen with free lanyard reg 3899each shop early prices in effect may 22 29 2002 personal shopping only while supplies last sale prices are net markville shopping centre 9054776660 making offices work grandandtoycom a markham st0uffvhle family life centre credit counselling markham available to anyone livingworking in york region or available throughout york region nonprofit united way agency phone 905 4159719 fax 905 4159706 4261 hwy 7 suite 203 cmayonaibncom this message brought to you as a community service of the economist suntribune a message from the war amps safety is no i accident a so playsafe for more information call 18002503030 the mssge bnwght to you as a wnurjty jhywoftheecooonwtsoniribuoe