Healthcare crisis is a crisis of participatory democracy

Healthcare crisis is a crisis of participatory democracy

By Mario deSantis, January 31, 2000

The downsizing and restructuring of the healthcare industry initiated in Canada in the early 90's

reduce the number of the acknowledged oversupply of hospital beds when, in a span of a decade, health care expenditures increased approximately from one quarter

to one third of governmental provincial budgets. This downsizing and restructuring of the health

care system had the primary goal to integrate the various health care facilities and related services

within a geographical region and reduce the number of the acknowledged oversupply of

hospital beds. The downsizing we experienced in the latter part of the 90's had an altogether

different flavour and was spearheaded by our bureaucratic technocrats.

These bureaucratic technocrats ganged together all across Canada to re-engineer the health

provinces were engaging in these expensive information technology projects system by using ongoing obsolete information technologies to increase the productivity of

medical and nursing services. In 1995, Saskatchewan Health was getting ready for the

implementation of the Saskatchewan Health Information Network⁽¹⁾ (SHIN), the largest

information technology undertaking ever mandated in the province; in this same year of 1995,

the Ministry of Health of Manitoba was planning a $100 Million initiative to develop a health

information network over a 5 year period, Nova Scotia was undertaking an information

technology initiative expected to cost approximately $300 Million over a three year period,

and all other provinces were engaging in these expensive information technology projects⁽²⁾.

further spinoffs in the mismanagement of other resources Millions and millions of dollars have been wasted all across Canada for re-engineering health

care through the implementation of Information Technology projects and this re-engineering

has caused further spinoffs in the mismanagement of other resources. Therefore, the health

care crisis is a Canada wide problem and it is mostly due to the incompetence of our politicians

and bureaucrats, be in Saskatchewan or elsewhere.

bureaucrats first gang together to make a mess of health care And when I hear Saskatchewan healthcare bureaucrats stating that today's nursing shortage

is a Canadian problem⁽³⁾, I become more inflamed than ever thinking how these incompetent

and deceptive bureaucrats first gang together to make a mess of health care across Canada,

and then cover up their local responsibilities by saying for instance that the nursing shortage

is a Canadian wide problem.

Our current politicians and bureaucrats are masters of deception. While Saskatchewan

a major review of the health care system will be unveiled this Spring healthcare spending is at an all time high of 40% of the provincial budget, the Chair of the

Regina Health District says "We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate... the underfunding

which forces us to operate in a deficit position⁽⁴⁾." At the same time Pat Atkinson, Minister

of Health, states that a major review of the health care system will be unveiled this Spring⁽⁵⁾,

and that this review would not include the participation of the Provincial Auditor, Wayne

Strelioff, since he is a limited accountant who doesn't go beyond value-for-money analysis.

In stating such a derogatory remark about our Provincial Auditor, Pat Atkinson shows that

either she has not read any of the Provincial Auditor's Reports or that she is a liar.

we must "meet people's real needs..." Anyhow, it is not by having more money or having additional restructuring that we can cure

health care. What we need, and what everybody forgot, is the recognition that we must "meet

people's real needs, and... involve all the people to make care cost-effective⁽⁶⁾." Yes, this is

democracy, the involvement of all the people, and this has never happened under the

governmental direction of Premier Roy Romanow and his Tin Pot dictators.

-----------General reference and endnotes:

General reference: articles by Mario deSantis, published by North Central Internet News

1.
-
A Historical Perspective of The Saskatchewan Health Information Network, by Mario deSantis and James deSantis, March 1998 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-SHIN.htm

2.
-
Saskatchewan Health Information Technology Architecture Overview, Appendix A, Saskatchewan Health, April 1995.

3.
-
-
Saskatchewan Nursing Shortage: Shifting the blame for our own Incompetence, by Mario deSantis, November 27, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis89/SHD-Nurs-Nov29-99.html

4.
-
Healthcare in Saskatchewan: Getting ready for re-reengineering and shifting the blame, by Mario deSantis, October 31, 1999

5.
Healthcare to go under microscope, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, January 29, 2000

6.
-
Invitation by the Regina Health Board to comment on the Atkinson Report, by Mario deSantis, May 8, 1992 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-Atkinson-may08-92.htm

Healthcare crisis is a crisis of participatory democracy
*By Mario deSantis, January 31, 2000*

	The downsizing and restructuring of the healthcare industry initiated in Canada in the early 90's
reduce the number of the acknowledged oversupply of hospital beds	when, in a span of a decade, health care expenditures increased approximately from one quarter
	to one third of governmental provincial budgets. This downsizing and restructuring of the health
	care system had the primary goal to integrate the various health care facilities and related services
	within a geographical region and reduce the number of the acknowledged oversupply of
	hospital beds. The downsizing we experienced in the latter part of the 90's had an altogether
	different flavour and was spearheaded by our bureaucratic technocrats.

	These bureaucratic technocrats ganged together all across Canada to re-engineer the health
provinces were engaging in these expensive information technology projects	system by using ongoing obsolete information technologies to increase the productivity of
	medical and nursing services. In 1995, Saskatchewan Health was getting ready for the
	implementation of the Saskatchewan Health Information Network⁽¹⁾ (SHIN), the largest
	information technology undertaking ever mandated in the province; in this same year of 1995,
	the Ministry of Health of Manitoba was planning a $100 Million initiative to develop a health
	information network over a 5 year period, Nova Scotia was undertaking an information
	technology initiative expected to cost approximately $300 Million over a three year period,
	and all other provinces were engaging in these expensive information technology projects⁽²⁾.

further spinoffs in the mismanagement of other resources	Millions and millions of dollars have been wasted all across Canada for re-engineering health
	care through the implementation of Information Technology projects and this re-engineering
	has caused further spinoffs in the mismanagement of other resources. Therefore, the health
	care crisis is a Canada wide problem and it is mostly due to the incompetence of our politicians
	and bureaucrats, be in Saskatchewan or elsewhere.

bureaucrats first gang together to make a mess of health care	And when I hear Saskatchewan healthcare bureaucrats stating that today's nursing shortage
	is a Canadian problem⁽³⁾, I become more inflamed than ever thinking how these incompetent
	and deceptive bureaucrats first gang together to make a mess of health care across Canada,
	and then cover up their local responsibilities by saying for instance that the nursing shortage
	is a Canadian wide problem.

	Our current politicians and bureaucrats are masters of deception. While Saskatchewan
a major review of the health care system will be unveiled this Spring	healthcare spending is at an all time high of 40% of the provincial budget, the Chair of the
	Regina Health District says "We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate... the underfunding
	which forces us to operate in a deficit position⁽⁴⁾." At the same time Pat Atkinson, Minister
	of Health, states that a major review of the health care system will be unveiled this Spring⁽⁵⁾,
	and that this review would not include the participation of the Provincial Auditor, Wayne
	Strelioff, since he is a limited accountant who doesn't go beyond value-for-money analysis.
	In stating such a derogatory remark about our Provincial Auditor, Pat Atkinson shows that
	either she has not read any of the Provincial Auditor's Reports or that she is a liar.

we must "meet people's real needs..."	Anyhow, it is not by having more money or having additional restructuring that we can cure
	health care. What we need, and what everybody forgot, is the recognition that we must "meet
	people's real needs, and... involve all the people to make care cost-effective⁽⁶⁾." Yes, this is
	democracy, the involvement of all the people, and this has never happened under the
	governmental direction of Premier Roy Romanow and his Tin Pot dictators.

-----------General reference and endnotes:
	General reference: articles by Mario deSantis, published by *North Central Internet News*

1. -	A Historical Perspective of The Saskatchewan Health Information Network, by Mario deSantis and James deSantis, March 1998 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-SHIN.htm

2. -	Saskatchewan Health Information Technology Architecture Overview, Appendix A, Saskatchewan Health, April 1995.

3. - -	Saskatchewan Nursing Shortage: Shifting the blame for our own Incompetence, by Mario deSantis, November 27, 1999 http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/desantis89/SHD-Nurs-Nov29-99.html

4. -	Healthcare in Saskatchewan: Getting ready for re-reengineering and shifting the blame, by Mario deSantis, October 31, 1999

5.	Healthcare to go under microscope, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, January 29, 2000

6. -	Invitation by the Regina Health Board to comment on the Atkinson Report, by Mario deSantis, May 8, 1992 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-Atkinson-may08-92.htm