The aftermath of the Premiers Meeting in Victoria: Better health care is a change of mind rather than more money or more telehealth

Nipawin - Sunday, August 5, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

there
is a
problem
It was early this morning when my wife Sharon coming back from work at Nipawin Hospital mentioned that some patients relayed the message that health care should have more front line workers and less middle management. Prior to that, and this same earlier morning, I was reflecting on social concerns and specifically made reference to the ongoing abuse of the private contract, on the inadequacy to have corporations being socially responsible beyond the provision to increase shareholders' profits, and on the recent announcement that more money is being spent again and again to implement a Telehealth system in Nipawin and Cumberland House.

changes
possible
We live in a social context where our hegemonic leadership are purposefully reinforcing their own demented mentality to all the rest of us people at large; and most of us either refrain from voicing our discontent for losing jobs, or accept the fact that social changes are impossible to make. As I am concerned, I feel that social changes for the better are if and only if we are able to express ourselves and become part of a civil society, that is responsible to ourselves and to others.

top
down hierarchical
I don't buy the story that our health care problem is rooted on having too many middle managers and not enough front line staff doing the real work. In this hegemonic leadership we do what we are told to do, and therefore we have created a top down hierarchical chain of command system, where one level, after enriching itself, 'passes the buck' to the lower levels of chain of command. Therefore, it is evident that the problem is not too many middle managers, the root problem resides in our demented leadership at the top of our hierarchical chain of command system; after all, these middle managers have been hired by their senior executives.

bark for
more money
One more evidence of our demented leadership comes today as we learn that Ottawa Hospital supervisor and former conservative cabinet minister Dennis Timbell is making $1,500 a day, a pay equivalent to Ottawa Hospital president and CEO David Levine, who earns $350,00 a year. We must recall that Ontario Minister of Health Tony Clement fired the volunteer hospital board and replaced it with the top dog supervisor Dennis Timbell to reverse the hospital's fiscal crisis. Yes, there is a hospital's fiscal crisis, but this crisis doesn't touch the pocket of our top dogs as they continue to bark for more money for their pockets.

more
efficiencies
Our Canadian premiers met in Victoria last week, and they promised to deliver health care making use of jointly cost and benefit analysis to look into more efficiencies in the medicare system. As an after effect of this promise we have the promise of a newer and more efficient Telehealth system for Nipawin and Cumberland House at a cost of some $2.8 million. In March of last year I stated:

"the Telehealth system linking Nipawin to Cumberland House is supposed to be operational to day, March 15, 2000, but referring to the past experiences of our Big Brains I doubt about it."

dig deeper
holes
Well, I was not wrong, our Big Brains have more money to dig deeper holes in the ground, yet they threaten Ottawa they would establish their own health system if they don't get more money.

corrupted
Our health care system is not a matter of being either public or private. Our health care system is corrupted, and the solution to better health care is a change of mind rather than more money.

------------------References

Related social and economic articles published by Ensign

Premiers threaten health coup. Provinces could set their own standards of care if Ottawa doesn't cough up $7-billion Ian Bailey and Robert Benzie, August 4, 2001 National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010804/637277.html

"Tele-health" coming to Nipawin, Cumberland House, CBC Canada, August 3, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/03/telehealthiac010803

Timbrell salary $1,500 per day, Joanne Laucius, The Ottawa Citizen, August 4, 2001 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/city/010804/5038662.html

A question for Minister of Health Pat Atkinson: How much money is Telehealth costing? March 16, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2000/desantis140/Telehealth.html


Nipawin - Sunday, August 5, 2001 - by: Mario deSantis

there is a problem	It was early this morning when my wife Sharon coming back from work at Nipawin Hospital mentioned that some patients relayed the message that health care should have more front line workers and less middle management. Prior to that, and this same earlier morning, I was reflecting on social concerns and specifically made reference to the ongoing abuse of the private contract, on the inadequacy to have corporations being socially responsible beyond the provision to increase shareholders' profits, and on the recent announcement that more money is being spent again and again to implement a Telehealth system in Nipawin and Cumberland House.

changes possible	We live in a social context where our hegemonic leadership are purposefully reinforcing their own demented mentality to all the rest of us people at large; and most of us either refrain from voicing our discontent for losing jobs, or accept the fact that social changes are impossible to make. As I am concerned, I feel that social changes for the better are if and only if we are able to express ourselves and become part of a civil society, that is responsible to ourselves and to others.

top down hierarchical	I don't buy the story that our health care problem is rooted on having too many middle managers and not enough front line staff doing the real work. In this hegemonic leadership we do what we are told to do, and therefore we have created a top down hierarchical chain of command system, where one level, after enriching itself, 'passes the buck' to the lower levels of chain of command. Therefore, it is evident that the problem is not too many middle managers, the root problem resides in our demented leadership at the top of our hierarchical chain of command system; after all, these middle managers have been hired by their senior executives.

bark for more money	One more evidence of our demented leadership comes today as we learn that Ottawa Hospital supervisor and former conservative cabinet minister Dennis Timbell is making $1,500 a day, a pay equivalent to Ottawa Hospital president and CEO David Levine, who earns $350,00 a year. We must recall that Ontario Minister of Health Tony Clement fired the volunteer hospital board and replaced it with the top dog supervisor Dennis Timbell to reverse the hospital's fiscal crisis. Yes, there is a hospital's fiscal crisis, but this crisis doesn't touch the pocket of our top dogs as they continue to bark for more money for their pockets.

more efficiencies	Our Canadian premiers met in Victoria last week, and they promised to deliver health care making use of jointly cost and benefit analysis to look into more efficiencies in the medicare system. As an after effect of this promise we have the promise of a newer and more efficient Telehealth system for Nipawin and Cumberland House at a cost of some $2.8 million. In March of last year I stated:
	"the Telehealth system linking Nipawin to Cumberland House is supposed to be operational to day, March 15, 2000, but referring to the past experiences of our Big Brains I doubt about it."
dig deeper holes	Well, I was not wrong, our Big Brains have more money to dig deeper holes in the ground, yet they threaten Ottawa they would establish their own health system if they don't get more money.

corrupted	Our health care system is not a matter of being either public or private. Our health care system is corrupted, and the solution to better health care is a change of mind rather than more money.

------------------References
	Related social and economic articles published by *Ensign*

	Premiers threaten health coup. Provinces could set their own standards of care if Ottawa doesn't cough up $7-billion Ian Bailey and Robert Benzie, August 4, 2001 National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010804/637277.html

	"Tele-health" coming to Nipawin, Cumberland House, CBC Canada, August 3, 2001 http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/03/telehealthiac010803

	Timbrell salary $1,500 per day, Joanne Laucius, The Ottawa Citizen, August 4, 2001 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/city/010804/5038662.html

	A question for Minister of Health Pat Atkinson: How much money is Telehealth costing? March 16, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign/desantisArticles/2000/desantis140/Telehealth.html