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economist sunlsuntribune health saturday jan 29 2005 hospitals ready for or shutdown sh anesthesiologists feb 11 meeting viewed as walkout by chris traber staff writer operating rooms in york region hos pitals will shut down feb 11 as most anesthesiologists will be off the job attending a daylong meeting while doctors contend the day is an essential meeting of the ontario med ical associations anesthesiology sec tion it is widely viewed as a walkout protesting the governments reduced waiting list program and languishing contract negotiations whether its job action or profession al development it means elective sur gery at 17 of ontarios 154 hospitals including yorks three health facilities will be cancelled that friday emergency and urgent care will be available at all three hospitals markham stouffville hospital has not scheduled elective surgery for feb 11 advised public affairs vicepresident chad hanna we had a sense of what was going to happen he said it will be business as usual there will be no compromise of patient safety or quality of care the hospitals surgical suite will operate at the regular after hours service to support emergency surgical and obstetrical cases surgical system direc tor terri stuartmcewan said at no time will patient safety be at risk she said an anesthesiologist will be on site that day york central hospital has cancelled all elective surgery feb 11 confirmed president and ceo bruce harber i dont know how many cases are affected but they are being rebooked mr harber said adding two of 11 staff anesthesiologists will be on call addressing the waiting list strategy is a concern for surgeons as well as anes thesiologists mr harber said weve received provincial funding for extra joint replacement cataract and cancer surgeries these cases have to be completed by march 31 and theyll be discussing how to get that done and how to accelerate wait lists he said there are 17 staff anesthesiologists at southlake five of whom will be sched uled feb 11 to cover emergencies and urgent cases such as cancer and ortho pedics our governing body has convened a meeting on feb 11 and has asked for our members to attend southlake regional health centre chief of anesthe siology dr ira bloom said what it means is that we will not be running elective surgery on that date in bruce harber york central hospital president and ceo says feb 11 surger ies are being rebooked the day time he would not speculate on any future action i cant speculate on that he said the meeting is important in that we need to determine the anesthesiolo gists situation in ontario the waiting list issue will be a major topic of discussion we have all taken on extra cancer and orthopedic cases the profession is working harder than usual and some have had to forego vacation time some orthopedic surgeons have wait lists in excess of a year thats a real problem the government has to address dr bloom said the association will launch a 1 mil lion radio and newspaper advertising campaign this weekend designed to kick start contract negotiations with the ministry of health and longterm care the ads suggest overworked doctors cant solve long waiting lists and 142 ontario communities dont have enough physicians the contract tabled by the govern ment in late 2004 excluded pay hikes in the first year and was rejected by 59 per cent of association members includ ing 77 per cent of anesthesiologists who claim ontario needs another 90 in their specialty a little time can make a huge difference in a childs life with several volunteer programs to choose from one is sure to suit your schedule 16 big brothers big sisters of york 9057271251 wwwbbsyca this message brought to you as a community service of the economist suntribune bladez 6320 treadmill sweat the pounds not the payments dont pay one year motorized folding treadmill rtx 30hp octane q35 club quality absolutely the smoothest elliptical msrp s now s console monitors pulse 1 speed time distance f calories burnedand j heart rate i body solid g5s guided easy motion solid steel lifetime warranty 4 ex msrp now s canada smooth 515 treadmill 25 hp continuous duty sm c iean sb folding design fbmb flffi mil msrp 1599 now s tthhht vision 2000 recumbent bike comfortable back support smooth magnetic resistance bladez model m bfgu2 hswe350 now fitness soma official sponsor shop whcie the pro ihop vaughan mills 905 7617074 now open for all things fitness t0r0mt0 416 4400244 mississauga 9057559000 vaughan newmarket markham 9056604888 9058367618 9054714116 0akville brampton pickering 9058150123 commgs00n 9054265700 selection my vary by store see store lor detaiis 0 ac en seeded irercjise minimum purchase 500 wwwfitnesssourceca hamilton mcadowlands power centra 905 3045919 as admsitawsdesvery due al time ol purchase administration tee of 69 ii