If anything damages medicare in this province it will be political gamesmanship. Our medicare system has become such a sacred cow nothing can even be discussed as to how to improve it without politicians jumping in calling it privatization. Privatization would mean that you pay for a service at the time of rendering rather than with your tax dollars.
The NDP's canned response to medicare woes is "more money." Yet more money has not solved the growing problems in the system. About 50% of our tax dollars already go to medicare and the problems of service still exist. Economists warn that medicare is on the verge of collapsing under its own weight. And still NDP politicians fear monger that any government that muses about changing the status quo has a hidden agenda to destroy medicare.
In this province, whether you are left, centre or right wing in your political thinking, support for medicare is strong.
I applaud the Sask Party for considering contracting out the CT scan services. People wait-listed for surgery generally can't have it without first having a scan or MRI and the wait time for those services in looong. Some Xray services and blood collection are already provided by private companies without negative impact on the system. The theme that any service that is not in-house and unionized is to the detriment of our system is political bunk.
I am appreciative that we have some elected politicians that are mentally mobile and willing to take the political risk to help improve and possibly save out medicare system. We should be queued up behind them and pass by the clueless opposition.
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Worth mentioning that it was the NDP that originally opted to contract out the bloodwork and x-ray diagnostics.
ReplyDeleteNothing like a little fear mongering to keep the drones in line.
When is someone going to call out these unions for what they have done to the health care system. Why if all the lefties are so concerned about the state of health care do they all circle the wagons come contract time and try to bleed whatever they can from the public teat?
ReplyDeleteIt is so frustrating to hear people defend such a flawed system. NEWS FLASH TO CANADIANS....OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM SUCKS WHEN COMPARED TO ALMOST EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED NATIONS OTHER THAN THE USA.
I suppose the lefties defend the system as it is as it is nothing more than a way for them to funnel tax dollars back into their greedy union pockets.
why not simply pay for and staff additional CT Scanners instead? If patients (like a friend of mine) are having to wait 6 months and there appointments are for midnight - it suggests that there is a need for more capacity.
ReplyDeleteWhy does that additional capacity have to be contracted out?
Because our hospitals are overcrowded as they currently are and there is no room to simply buy another CT scanner and stick it in there. You are going to need a new facility, new staff, new equipment.... lot's of overhead costs, and regardless of the party in power the government is broke. Include the fact that most every project the government embarks on is more expensive than private sector and it makes little fiscal sense.
ReplyDeleteThis is not anything new, we have been contracting out diagnostic work, blood work and x-rays for years in a program that was started by the NDP no less, who appropriately realized the benefit of doing so.
I understand some don't mind continually paying for taxes and giving half their income to the government but the many people also resent giving such a high portion of their income. We live in a democracy and the people of Saskatchewan conclusively stated last election that they are against the over taxation and swelling of the government.
It's time to start looking at ways to reform healthcare (no, not privatization... but expand from the notion that if the government isn't giving the service it sucks).
PS- If you want to cancel the midnight appointments it will take much more than 1 CT scanner. The ones we have are operating at capacity (hence the late night sessions), to get them on a 9-5 schedule you'll probably need to buy 2,3 or 4 more.