N.S. introduces legislation to regulate private health clinics: Knowledge Driven Revolution

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Nova Scotia's health minister tabled legislation Thursday to regulate private clinics while insisting the move poses no threat to the public health-care system.

Chris d'Entremont said the goal of the the bill is to protect the public system and increase patient safety by setting clear rules for insured and uninsured services provided by private clinics. If passed, the act would essentially clear the way for more private health facilities in a province that only has three - all in the Halifax area.

But d'Entremont did his best to play down that possibility when he asked about his vision of health care in the province.

"We haven't been solicited for private services and we're not going out to solicit private services," he said.

"We have a public system. We want to make sure we have equitable access for all Nova Scotians and that there is one payer and that's the taxpayer."

Under the legislation, private clinics would have to be licensed and subject to monitoring by the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

They would also have limited hours of operation and be restricted to performing diagnostic services such as MRIs and CAT scans, and minor day surgeries such as knee scopes.

Clinics would only be able to do the procedures through a contract with the province, a district health authority or the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

D'Entremont said the new rules would also promote equal access to services by eliminating the practice of queue-jumping through the creation of a single wait list across the system.

"People cannot, for the virtue of having some extra dollars in their pocket, have access to services that normal Nova Scotians cannot," he said.

There is also a provision in the legislation that would require health workers to report instances of queue-jumping to the minister.

Opposition health critics were mixed in their reviews of the act, with both saying they need more time to digest its contents.

New Democrat David Wilson said he's concerned the province is opening the door to wide-scale privatization of health care.

"It looks like it's just there to allow more clinics to open and be somewhat regulated," he said.

"He (d'Entremont) talks about queue-jumping, but why would we need private facilities if people can't jump the queue?"

Liberal critic Dave Wilson was more supportive, calling the bill a "good start to protecting the public system," although he eventually expressed some reservations after being prodded by reporters.

"I'm OK with preventing queue-jumping, but if you're asking me if I'm OK with private clinics taking the place of public facilities, then the answer is no," Wilson said.

Joan Jessome, president of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, criticized the bill, saying it would give private care a bigger foothold in the province.

"It's like putting a big screen door on health care - anything can go through," she said.

Jessome expressed fear that private clinics would eventually carry out procedures currently done in public hospitals as medical technology evolves.

She also cautioned that wait lists would suffer in the public system as health-care staff leave for better working hours in the private system.

"It doesn't put more people into the system. It doesn't create more workers," said Jessome.

D'Entremont tabled the bill on the last day of the fall sitting and wasn't sure if it will be passed during the spring session.

He said the government will look for more input from the public and opposition as the process moves forward.

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HOME Rouge States and the 9/11 Truth Terrorists Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	N.S. introduces legislation to regulate private health clinics Keith Doucette - CP November 27, 2006 Related - Vancouver to get Canada's First Private ER Related - What is Wrong With Canada? Nova Scotia's health minister tabled legislation Thursday to regulate private clinics while insisting the move poses no threat to the public health-care system. Chris d'Entremont said the goal of the the bill is to protect the public system and increase patient safety by setting clear rules for insured and uninsured services provided by private clinics. If passed, the act would essentially clear the way for more private health facilities in a province that only has three - all in the Halifax area. But d'Entremont did his best to play down that possibility when he asked about his vision of health care in the province. "We haven't been solicited for private services and we're not going out to solicit private services," he said. "We have a public system. We want to make sure we have equitable access for all Nova Scotians and that there is one payer and that's the taxpayer." Under the legislation, private clinics would have to be licensed and subject to monitoring by the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons. They would also have limited hours of operation and be restricted to performing diagnostic services such as MRIs and CAT scans, and minor day surgeries such as knee scopes. Clinics would only be able to do the procedures through a contract with the province, a district health authority or the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. D'Entremont said the new rules would also promote equal access to services by eliminating the practice of queue-jumping through the creation of a single wait list across the system. "People cannot, for the virtue of having some extra dollars in their pocket, have access to services that normal Nova Scotians cannot," he said. There is also a provision in the legislation that would require health workers to report instances of queue-jumping to the minister. Opposition health critics were mixed in their reviews of the act, with both saying they need more time to digest its contents. New Democrat David Wilson said he's concerned the province is opening the door to wide-scale privatization of health care. "It looks like it's just there to allow more clinics to open and be somewhat regulated," he said. "He (d'Entremont) talks about queue-jumping, but why would we need private facilities if people can't jump the queue?" Liberal critic Dave Wilson was more supportive, calling the bill a "good start to protecting the public system," although he eventually expressed some reservations after being prodded by reporters. "I'm OK with preventing queue-jumping, but if you're asking me if I'm OK with private clinics taking the place of public facilities, then the answer is no," Wilson said. Joan Jessome, president of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, criticized the bill, saying it would give private care a bigger foothold in the province. "It's like putting a big screen door on health care - anything can go through," she said. Jessome expressed fear that private clinics would eventually carry out procedures currently done in public hospitals as medical technology evolves. She also cautioned that wait lists would suffer in the public system as health-care staff leave for better working hours in the private system. "It doesn't put more people into the system. It doesn't create more workers," said Jessome. D'Entremont tabled the bill on the last day of the fall sitting and wasn't sure if it will be passed during the spring session. He said the government will look for more input from the public and opposition as the process moves forward. Read the full article here Broken Link? If the link to the original article is broken or has been altered you can view the article by clicking here. About KDR \| \| Home \| \| Weekly Features Archive	Weekly Features Archive
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