Candidates share health care solutions
I have only posted the comments from the Hamilton-East canidates.
Posted with full permission from the Stoney Creek news
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(Sep 21, 2007)
The Stoney Creek News would like to give readers the chance to ask the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and Niagara West-Glanbrook provincial election candidates about issues that are on your mind.
This week, the Stoney Creek News asked, "What specific plans would you propose to address health care issues in this area, for example, the family physician shortage?"
Here are local candidates' views.
Tara Crugnale, PC candidate Hamilton East-Stoney Creek:
Every person should have access to health care and this begins with a family doctor. It is unacceptable that more than a million Ontarians, (including 130,000 children) do not have a family doctor. This problem is shared by more than 30,000 Hamiltonians.
According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, since Mr. McGuinty has been our premier, the percentage of family doctors accepting new patients has plummetted by 50 per cent. John Tory and I will work to keep the doctors we have in Ontario.
We will expand enrollment of our medical schools and develop a better system for recognizing the credentials of qualified foreign trained doctors. John Tory and I understand that much of the burden of our health care system falls on the shoulders of Ontario's nurses. To improve patient care, we will fund more full-time nurses for our hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices.
In this age of instant information, it is inexcusable that our health care system is bogged down by an out of date reliance on paper records, faxed test results and telephone referrals.
Ontario residents cannot understand how their purchasing history can be accessed when ordering a pizza, but doctors and specialists cannot access medical information on line. Experts have concluded an electronic health care system would improve patient care, help reduce delays and lower the cost of health care delivery.
We promise everyone in Ontario a secure and private electronic record of his or her patient history. Patients will have the right to control access to this information.
Often, home is the best place to receive health care. Many seniors and others suffering from long-term illness would prefer to stay in their homes if possible.
John Tory and I will achieve this by expanding the funding for home care. For those who cannot receive health care in their homes, we will make sure those living in long-term care facilities do so in a comfortable and dignified manner.
We all need the security of knowing that if we, a family member or a friend, requires health care, it will be available where and when it is required.
A John Tory government's commitment, to improving both access and delivery of health care, is vital for the future of Ontario.
Paul Miller, NDP candidate Hamilton East-Stoney Creek:
It's time the hard working people of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek got a fair deal on health care. A fair deal means quality, public health care when you need it - fully staffed emergency rooms, access to community health centres and family doctors and more long-term beds and home care for our seniors. But what did they get from Dalton McGuinty's Liberals? The Liberals have let down Ontario families on every major health care issue - from delisting services and building private for-profit hospitals to breaking their promise on hiring new nurses and shortening waiting times.
The NDP will return fairness to our health care system by:
* Reducing emergency room wait times to ensure quality medical care is there when you need it.
* Ensuring everyone has access to high quality primary care, no matter where they live, including family doctors, nurse practitioners and community health centres.
* Ensuring quality care for seniors by improving standards in long-term care and by providing more home care and caregiver supports so seniors can live independently in the community as long as they wish.
* Guaranteeing every health care dollar goes to patient care, not private profit by putting a stop to for profit hospitals.
* Restoring coverage the McGuinty liberals unfairly removed for eye exams, chiropractic care and physiotherapy.
Nerene Virgin, Liberal candidate, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek:
Over the last four years, 500,000 patients have found doctors. Those figures aren't political spin, they come from the Ontario Medical Association. The goal is to repeat that performance and I think if we can build on several key areas that the Liberals introduced over the last four years, we can readily achieve that goal.
More foreign trained medical professionals were provided with necessary training to allow them to qualify to practice here in Ontario. Medical school spaces were increased by 23 per cent. It was the first opening up of spaces for more than a decade.
Medical school tuition has been lowered to make Ontario an attractive place for aspiring doctors. And, in a highly creative move, satellite medical campuses were opened in areas where there is a serious doctor shortage. Simply put, it takes so long to go through medical school that students often settle into the community, find a home and family before they finish and thus are more likely to stay in the area.
Also helping alleviate the shortage was the introduction of Family Health Teams and specifically here in Hamilton, a network of Family Health Teams. These teams bring together various health care professionals, like doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, dietitians, pharmacists, psychologists, etc. working to provide a more holistic approach to a patient's health needs.
Doctors are needed mostly to provide diagnosis and advise a course of treatment, but their time can often be freed up to see other patients, if another health care professional can help the patient in other areas, such as diet and drugs. As these teams continue to open and become established, we should see more patients getting doctors.
Also, I believe the respect being shown for nurses and their skills and ability to lead health care clinics will be another innovative and successful measure.
Ask the candidates
Take advantage of this chance to ask your local Ontario election candidates about what's on your mind.
To ask questions to provincial election candidates, please send an e-mail to
editor@stoneycreeknews.com, with your name, telephone number, address and riding.
Photo#1- Nerene Virgin, Liberal candidate, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
Photo#2- Paul Miller, NDP candidate Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
Photo#3- Tara Crugnale, PC candidate Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
