The Prof
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Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States.
Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday, but would not reveal the location of the operation or how it would be paid for.
"He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done," said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.
"In consultation with his own doctors, he's decided to go that route."
Mr. Williams' decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada's health-care system.
"It was never an option offered to him to have this procedure done in this province," said Ms. Dunderdale, refusing to answer whether the procedure could be done elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Williams, 59, has said nothing of his health in the media.
"The premier has made a commitment that once he's through this procedure and he's well enough, he's going to talk about the whole process and share as much detail with you as he's comfortable to do at that time," she said.
Ms. Dunderdale wouldn't say where in the U.S. Mr. Williams is seeking treatment.
A popular Progressive Conservative premier, Mr. Williams has also seen his share of controversy. During the 2008 federal election, Mr. Williams vehemently opposed the Conservative government, launching his "Anything But Conservative" -- which has been credited with keeping the Tories from winning any seats in the province.
He's also drawn criticism for his support of the seal hunt.
Look, the only time some Americans give a **** about Canada is when something happens here that helps their point of view! The rest of the time they probably don't care and likely don't know much about this country. Right-wingers who are opposed to government health care cherry pick the bad stuff, or downsides, and ignore all the good things about Canada's universal health care system.
:violin:violin:violin
Why do you think the premier is choosing to seek care in America?
If we had universal care, then where would he have to go? India?
Keep in mind that until very recently, Newfoundland was a poor province! They likely have not had the resources to fund their medical services as properly as maybe they should have. NF only recently changed from a "Have-Not" to a "Have" province. We have universal health care in Canada, but the health care systems and quality varies province to province, because health care is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada.
Look, the only time some Americans give a **** about Canada is when something happens here that helps their point of view! The rest of the time they probably don't care and likely don't know much about this country. Right-wingers who are opposed to government health care cherry pick the bad stuff, or downsides, and ignore all the good things about Canada's universal health care system.
I'm tired of my country being the whipping boy for partisan American interests! Do we do some things better than the US? Sure. Are we perfect? No, and we never claimed to be. We know we have problems that need to be sorted out, but we're trying to deal with them. /rant
Why not go to another province?
And said expert is in the U.S."He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done."...
Why not go to another province?
But seriously, I'll believe America has a better health care system than Canada when I see Canada switch to our system.
Because:
And said expert is in the U.S.
People from Saskatchewan may soon be coming to British Columbia for surgery, if negotiations between the two provincial governments are successful.
B.C.'s health minister, Kevin Falcon, said selling surgeries will bring money into B.C.'s system and help British Columbians get care sooner. But New Democratic Party health critic, Adrian Dix, said the plan makes no sense when health authorities are already cancelling surgeries for British Columbians.
"We'd obviously have to do the homework on how we would do it," said Falcon. "The principle would be that we'd charge a premium for the service that would allow us to not only cover our costs but use the additional revenues to then allow British Columbians to get their procedures done sooner and quicker." The Tyee reported Monday on the plan, after the Canadian Press reported that Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall mentioned it. "If people have been waiting for 15 months, do they care if [their surgery] happens in Saskatoon, Regina or Surrey? I'm not sure they do," the story quoted Wall saying.
Close to an agreement
Discussions are in "early stages," Falcon said, but added the two provinces are close to signing a memorandum of understanding that would have 400 orthopaedic surgeries done for people from Saskatchewan in British Columbia's public hospitals over two years.
He identified the UBC Centre for Surgical Innovation and St. Paul's Hospital as places which could likely be used for the plan.
<snip>
Across the province, there are 15,000 people waiting for orthopaedic surgery, Dix said. The figure is confirmed on the province's waitlist website.
"They cancel 10,000 surgeries for us and they offer up those surgeries to people in Saskatchewan," said Dix. "When you offer up spaces to people from other provinces, then those are spaces that could and should be taken by the people who paid for those hospitals, paid for those operating rooms, paid for that capacity, and that's the people of British Columbia."
Dix disagreed with Falcon's assertion that people from B.C. will still be given priority in B.C. hospitals. "He's clearly wrong," he said. "They're not taking precedence. How do we know they're not taking precedence? Because he's cancelling surgeries for British Columbians and offering them to people in Saskatchewan."
Record levels of surgery: Falcon
Falcon said it is "nonsense" to say offering surgeries to people from other provinces is only possible because of the cancellations. "We will still be undertaking record levels of surgical procedures in British Columbia," he said.
Falcon said the B.C. government has reduced surgical wait times since 2001. The median wait for a knee replacement in 2001-2002 was 25.4 weeks, according to a chart provided by a ministry official. By 2008-2009 that was down to 13 weeks. The wait time for hip replacements decreased over the same period from 18.7 weeks to 10 weeks.
Similarly, Falcon said, the number of hip and knee replacements done in the province has doubled over the same period.
Bringing in people from Saskatchewan won't slow access to surgery for British Columbian's, he said. "Obviously I wouldn't do it if it was going to slow down the wait list."
Offering surgical spaces for sale while British Columbians are waiting is a bad precedent for public health care, said Dix. "The order of surgery in our public hospitals should be based on medical need. That has always been the abiding principle in British Columbia, until perhaps the Falcon era."
As the NDP's John Horgan, MLA for Juan de Fuca, put it in question period, "Only in Liberal bizarro world would cancelled surgeries be good news for British Columbians. George Orwell would be proud of the minister for that remark."
The Tyee ? Province Wants to Sell Surgeries to Saskatchewan
Apparently not of the quality he wanted.Canada doesn't have any heart surgeons?
Apparently not of the quality he wanted.
Look, the only time some Americans give a **** about Canada is when something happens here that helps their point of view!
The rest of the time they probably don't care and likely don't know much about this country.
Right-wingers who are opposed to government health care cherry pick the bad stuff, or downsides, and ignore all the good things about Canada's universal health care system.
I'm tired of my country being the whipping boy for partisan American interests!
Do we do some things better than the US?
Are we perfect? No.
We know we have problems that need to be sorted out, but we're trying to deal with them. /rant
Yes, you complain better.
No, you sent Jim Carry here. That's not dealing with your problems. Its exporting them.
There's enough whining going on in this forum by Americans that tells me otherwise.
Complete non sequitur, fail.
Why not go to another province?
Article said:"He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done," said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.
"It was never an option offered to him to have this procedure done in this province," said Ms. Dunderdale, refusing to answer whether the procedure could be done elsewhere in Canada.
Good thing he can afford it, hm? Too bad Americans who have the same problem can't get the kind of health care this guy can get.
America: The best health care system in the world -- as long as you can afford it, that is.
That doesn't mean he's not eligible. It means that there might not be the proper facility there.
I'm more curious about why he didn't investigate other provinces, and went right to the U.S. Even though he carries a health card for NL, that card could still be used in other provinces. Plus he is a Premier... I'm sure that has to get him some access.
My feeling is that he just wanted the best of the best, who happens to reside in the U.S. It's the political forces which are trying to make this a statement of values about either country's health care.
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