Turmoil within physicians' association continues amidst accusations of bullying on one side and misconduct on the other. ...
Category: Health and Wellness
Provincial advocate urges swift action on blueprint to reform residential care
Irwin Elman says the government now needs to prove it doesn't view children as "storage to be dumped out at 18." ...
Booze-like rules for legalized marijuana ‘makes sense,’ Wynne says
Wynne’s government announced Wednesday that it was looking for public feedback on the federal government’s plan to legalize marijuana by July 2018. ...
Ontario government wants to talk pot
The province wants “to hear from the people of Ontario as we develop an approach to legalization that keeps our youth, communities and roads safe," Attorney General Yasir Naqvi says. ...
Health-care regulations leave francophones in the dark, advocates say
Groups backing home care for Franco-Ontarians say proposed amendments still don't ensure French service. ...
Head of OMA defends group after resignations and accusation of a ‘toxic climate’
Dr. Shawn Whatley says he welcomes diverse viewpoints after leaders of OMA's two biggest districts quit in protest over alleged "bullying and intimidation." ...
About 1,800 complaints made to Ontario’s patient ombudsman in first year
Health-care watchdog Christine Elliott will release her first annual report this fall. ...
NDP wants serial-killer nurse inquiry expanded to ‘systemic problems’ in long-term care
The Liberals are currently searching for a commissioner to lead an independent inquiry into the Elizabeth Wettlaufer case. ...
Cabinet searching for commissioner to lead Wettlaufer inquiry
Cabinet to vet the commissioner and the scope of inquiry, with the attorney general doing much of the leg work. ...
Happening: A public inquiry into Elizabeth Wettlaufer case
The government is "actively engaged in finalizing" an order in council that will appoint a commissioner and set out the scope of the inquiry, which will be made public once approved. ...
Province’s pot plan won’t be ready for at least a month
Premier says tax model for regulated marijuana market still being discussed, following finance ministers' meeting and amid countdown to July 2018 legalization. ...
Privacy commissioner demands revamped health-care laws for digital age
Brian Beamish says the government must break out of its “silos” to enhance transparency and tighten privacy – especially in health care. ...
Doctors will be back at negotiating table by Sept. 1
Deadline to kick-start talks following binding arbitration vote and ongoing consultations with doctors by OMA. ...
Ontario gets cash for daycare – but critics say the system is still ‘broken’
Ottawa will give Queen's Park $435 million over three years for child care and early learning, the first in a slew of bilateral daycare deals with the feds. ...
Moral questions up in the air as assisted dying case wraps up
When does doctors' religious freedom start to harm patients? ...
Heard: Co-ordinated care service up and running
A new co-ordinated care service for patients seeking medical assistance in dying is up and running, providing an avenue around doctors whose moral beliefs clash with provincial policy on euthanasia. ...
Oversight body fights back against challenge to assisted-dying rules
Lawyers for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario told Superior Court that its policy of “effective referral” to a non-objecting doctor balances practitioners’ religious freedoms with their “duty to provide ...
Ontario Health Coalition report slams creeping private health care
The report warned of an encroaching “two-tier” system of health care where private clinics across the country charge patients out of pocket for tests and procedures already funded by taxpayers. ...
Top doc says OMA has ‘no policy’ on private health care after survey stirs up concerns
A survey sent to thousands of doctors challenges the province's all-holy health-care axioms. ...
Heard: Legislature passes patient protection law
The new bill also requires parents to complete an education session before they can exempt their children from mandatory immunizations for non-medical reasons. ...
Liberals to table law creating ‘safe access zones’ around abortion clinics
The new rules would trace the path of “bubble zone” legislation rolled out in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
Patient protection law poised to pass after tweaks to sexual abuse language
The legal wrangling during committee underscored tensions in the balance between a doctor’s right to practice and patients’ right to protection from sexual abuse. ...
MPPs reject bill to enshrine conscience rights in assisted dying law
The demand came hours before a vote on a second reading of Bill 129, a Progressive Conservative private member’s bill that seeks to make clear that participation in the assisted-dying process is voluntary for all health ...
Doctors and province strike tentative deal on binding arbitration
The agreement must still be approved by the OMA’s membership. ...
‘We won’t have to wait much longer,’ for deal with docs on binding arbitration, health minister says
A deal would pave the way to restart negotiations on a contract for physicians, who have gone four years without one. ...
Medically assisted dying bill passes third reading
Liberals and NDP in support of the legislation while the Progressive Conservatives opposed it out of concern for “conscience rights” for caregivers. ...
Tories table bill to enshrine ‘conscience rights’ in assisted-dying law
Health Minister Eric Hoskins accused the PCs of voting down amendments twice that would “reinforce and reiterate, as the federal legislation did, conscience rights for health care providers.” ...
Ontario Liberals to use pharmacare plan to push other provinces for national solution
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says using the new pharmacare plan for young people to influence other provinces is a "very good comparison" to what was done with the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. ...
Budget 2017: Liberals unveil universal prescription drug coverage for kids, young adults
At street level, young people need only present a health card at a pharmacy to walk away with cost-free prescription meds. ...
Liberals move to calm for-profit fears ahead of community care takeover
A sea change in the community care sector has stoked concerns about privatization. ...
Health minister holding out for national pharmacare, not NDP made-in-Ontario plan
The NDP pharmacare plan, first announced by leader Andrea Horwath Saturday at the New Democrats’ convention, would create a list of 125 “essential” medicines for which Ontarians would pay no more than a $6.11 co-payment ...
Seen: Naloxone kits run $1 million bill
As of March, more than 28,000 naloxone kits have been distributed. ...
Seen: Liberals enshrine patient care co-ordination service in medically assisted death bill
MPPs on the finance committee passed the government's amendment to "establish a care co-ordination service to support patient access to medical assistance in dying and other end-of-life options in Ontario." ...
Parties trade barbs over calls for improved autism services for students
Patrick Brown criticizes Liberals for lack of funding for special-education needs; Education Minister Mitzie Hunter shoots back that the PC leader "only shows interest in parents and children with autism when he can use ...
365 assisted deaths in Ontario since legalization, health minister says
But these assisted-deaths are happening while the legislature is still considering a bill that would offer legal protection to those health-care providers and shield patients’ insurance payouts and benefits. ...
Ontario’s ‘care co-ordination’ for assisted dying to begin this May: Hoskins
Alberta has a similar service, which offers information about medical assistance in dying to patients. ...
Ontario doctors, government head back to bargaining table
Binding interest arbitration, a key demand for doctors, is the first order of business, says Health Minister Eric Hoskins. ...
Queen’s Park being pushed on conscience rights for doctor-assisted dying bill
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says conscience rights are already respected by federal legislation. ...
Groups crank up the prebudget heat for more long-term care cash
New polling suggests that Ontarians are universally in favour of making long-term care a priority. ...
Doctors fear Bill 87 could suspend them over false claims of sexual abuse
The bill would expand the definition of sexual abuse and allow for doctors to be suspended prior to a finding of guilt. ...
Government looking at hospital funding ahead of 2017 budget: Wynne
The government's recently announced hydro relief measures don't offer significant help to hospital budgets. ...
Sousa: Ontario’s health deal with the feds includes social housing, ‘to some extent’
Talks between the provincial and federal governments on social housing continue. ...
Happening: Toronto to debate prescription heroin request to province
Toronto's plan comes as the province has committed to working with municipalities on the opioid crisis. ...
Medically-assisted death housekeeping bill goes to committee
The PCs plan to introduce an amendment at committee that they say will strengthen the conscience rights of doctors. ...
Ontario, Quebec, Alberta reach health agreements with Ottawa
The deal comes just in time for the federal and provincial budgets. ...
Happening: Publication-ban request in highest-billing doctors case goes to court
Certain doctors and the Ontario Medical Association want to prevent the names of the province's 100 highest-billing doctors from being released to the public. ...
After teen’s death, province commits to funding city of Ottawa’s opioid strategy
Ottawa's plan includes more detox and treatment beds, and equipping first responders with Naloxone ...
Wynne: Hydro plan will make Ontario’s budgets ‘a lot harder’ to balance
With its balanced-budget promise, the province has chosen a massive investment in hydro relief over other priorities, including health care. ...
Ontario’s 75+ population to double, straining long-term care system, report warns
In 20 years, Ontario population of seniors aged 75-plus will have doubled, placing more strain on an already strained long-term care home system without significantly more beds, according to a recent report. ...
Seen: Registered Nurses come away from Queen’s Park with promises
Registered Nurses got some promises from the health minister on prescription powers and home care. ...
Close
Close
Close
Close