NMA Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 2008 |
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Volume 27. Number 3, Fall 2008
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
► www.nlma.nl.ca/nexus
Message from the Executive Director
Critical issues can't wait
for negotiations table
Working conditions
for physicians, as for
all front line
professionals in our
province's health care
system, have always
been quite tough. For
far too long doctors
here have been
shouldering a
disproportionate
burden, that rightfully
belongs to government, in an effort to
keep the system afloat. Shortages of
professionals (doctors and nurses),
support services, equipment, office
space, isolation and the like are
surfacing on a daily basis in every
location and within every service area.
Just as important as the day-to-day
operational problems is the frustration
factor, the sense that neither health
authorities nor government are paying
much attention no matter how loud or
frequently the alarms go off. Physicians,
and coincidentally their patients, are
feeling increasingly desperate because
they do not see the light at the end of
the tunnel. What is certain is that our
doctors are reaching a breaking point,
and will not tolerate the current sad state
of affairs much longer.
Recent unilateral decisions by
government, acknowledging and
rewarding the hardship of some medical
groups, while disregarding precisely the
same circumstances of others, sets an
unfair double standard. This approach
has understandably inflamed the vast
majority of our members, who feel
ignored and under-valued. More
importantly, few physicians, if any, feel
secure that we can provide timely,
quality care under the current
circumstances.
In answer to many of the controversies
that have arisen recently, Health Minister
Ross Wiseman has suggested that
Meeting the media Physician shortages and challenges in delivering safe, timely
medical services have dominated the media in recent months. Here, NLMA President
Dr. Elizabeth Callahan responds to questions during a media scrum.
negotiations are just a few short months
away; that physicians should be patient
until then. It is true that certain issues,
particularly those concerning
compensation and working conditions,
belong at the negotiating table.
However, many of the problems plaguing
our health care system cannot be solved
at the negotiating table. Indeed they
must be addressed in advance in order
for our negotiations to be in any way
meaningful.
There has been much public static lately
as to whether or not our health care
system is in "crisis". What would be
helpful at this point is to shift our
attention from semantics to substance.
Regardless of what words we use, to
deny the existence of real and serious
problems is to ensure that they remain
unresolved. To delay addressing the
problems is to allow further, perhaps
irreversible erosion.
The government has finally agreed to
reinstitute the Physician Services Liaison
Committee, the body that brings together
the leaders of the NLMA and the senior
officials from the government. We now
have a renewed opportunity to engage
one another in the effort to improve
medical services for the people of this
province. The NLMA, for its part, will
approach the challenges that we all
share with a spirit of constructive
dialogue. We hope that our counterparts
will share this view.
Inserts with this issue
♦ NLPDP Newsletter
• OMAs The Source
NEXUS defined: A connected group or
series; a bond, a connection
Object Description
Description
| Title | NMA Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 2008 |
| Description | Nexus, Volume 27, No. 3 (Fall 2008) |
| Transcript | Volume 27. Number 3, Fall 2008 NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR MEDICAL ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER ► www.nlma.nl.ca/nexus Message from the Executive Director Critical issues can't wait for negotiations table Working conditions for physicians, as for all front line professionals in our province's health care system, have always been quite tough. For far too long doctors here have been shouldering a disproportionate burden, that rightfully belongs to government, in an effort to keep the system afloat. Shortages of professionals (doctors and nurses), support services, equipment, office space, isolation and the like are surfacing on a daily basis in every location and within every service area. Just as important as the day-to-day operational problems is the frustration factor, the sense that neither health authorities nor government are paying much attention no matter how loud or frequently the alarms go off. Physicians, and coincidentally their patients, are feeling increasingly desperate because they do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. What is certain is that our doctors are reaching a breaking point, and will not tolerate the current sad state of affairs much longer. Recent unilateral decisions by government, acknowledging and rewarding the hardship of some medical groups, while disregarding precisely the same circumstances of others, sets an unfair double standard. This approach has understandably inflamed the vast majority of our members, who feel ignored and under-valued. More importantly, few physicians, if any, feel secure that we can provide timely, quality care under the current circumstances. In answer to many of the controversies that have arisen recently, Health Minister Ross Wiseman has suggested that Meeting the media Physician shortages and challenges in delivering safe, timely medical services have dominated the media in recent months. Here, NLMA President Dr. Elizabeth Callahan responds to questions during a media scrum. negotiations are just a few short months away; that physicians should be patient until then. It is true that certain issues, particularly those concerning compensation and working conditions, belong at the negotiating table. However, many of the problems plaguing our health care system cannot be solved at the negotiating table. Indeed they must be addressed in advance in order for our negotiations to be in any way meaningful. There has been much public static lately as to whether or not our health care system is in "crisis". What would be helpful at this point is to shift our attention from semantics to substance. Regardless of what words we use, to deny the existence of real and serious problems is to ensure that they remain unresolved. To delay addressing the problems is to allow further, perhaps irreversible erosion. The government has finally agreed to reinstitute the Physician Services Liaison Committee, the body that brings together the leaders of the NLMA and the senior officials from the government. We now have a renewed opportunity to engage one another in the effort to improve medical services for the people of this province. The NLMA, for its part, will approach the challenges that we all share with a spirit of constructive dialogue. We hope that our counterparts will share this view. Inserts with this issue ♦ NLPDP Newsletter • OMAs The Source NEXUS defined: A connected group or series; a bond, a connection |
