PM starving health care, declares Shirley Douglas

[CHIMO]

At a ceremony Thursday recognizing her lifetime of work as an actress and activist, an ailing Shirley Douglas rose from her wheelchair, leaned on a cane and, with the aid of her assistant, moved gingerly toward a microphone.

There, she delivered an impassioned speech in which she warned that Canada's publicly-funded health-care system is in dire risk and “is going to disintegrate because of benign neglect.

“(Stephen) Harper will never, never say he's against the Canadian health-care system, but the results are all around you,” said Douglas, 76, adding the system is “being starved to death.”

In an address that, at times, was reminiscent of speeches given by her father, the late Tommy Douglas, who is hailed as the father of health care, she urged people to write Prime Minister Harper and demand increased funding.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/944706--pm-starving-health-care-declares-shirley-douglas?bn=1

[CanSocDem]

1. Of course.

All of these 'right-of-center' governments that sneak into power despite the overall democratic culture of Canada, are ideologically committed to privatizing our public health system. It's like their holy grail.

In one sense we're lucky to have that toxic example of free-market medicine living right next door. We know what they're doing and we know when they leave the house....

.

[CHIMO]

2. Canadian surgeons face flat-lining job market

Not so long ago, remote locations were trying to lure Canadian doctors with signing benefits and $60,000 annual bonuses. Now it’s the doctors who are trying to claw their way into those same communities.

With senior surgeons working into retirement and hospitals loath to hire new ones, the next generation is staring at a job pool that has quickly dried up.

One of the areas most acutely affected is orthopedic surgery. Having spent about a decade learning and training for a job, an estimated 30 specialists can’t find one – and as many as 50 might face the same situation after they graduate in July. While 800 surgeons are already employed across the country, there are three full-time positions and four locums, or temporary jobs, advertised on the Canadian Orthopaedic Association job board.

“I applied everywhere,” said orthopedic surgeon Alex Rabinovich, 32, who trained in Hamilton and Dallas and has been on the job hunt for two years. “They tell me: ‘We would love to have a foot and ankle surgeon – our wait times are ridiculous. However, we don’t have the resources.’”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/canadian-surgeons-face-flat-lining-job-market/article1920006/