Response:
Thank you for the questions.
My mother had pancreatic cancer and refused treatment as she thought they would make her health worse. She lived a year after being diagnosed but she lived it to the fullest.
My girlfriend is a survivor of breast cancer for over 10 years and she believed in the cancer treatments.
Before I begin to answer your questions, I was introduced to a gentleman of the 1930’s, Mr. Royal Rife. Please check out Wikipedia on Royal Rife. ” His beam ray device of his invention would weaken or destroy the pathogens by energetically exciting destructive resonances in their constituent chemicals”. Think what would happen to the Institution of Drug Companies. – Non existence. If a pathogens frequency could be weaken or destroyed then the body, mind and soul would stay intact. Think of the Cancer Institution – would it still exist if cancer pathogens were destroyed. Alzheimer, Parkinson, Arthritis..etc.
Thomas Clement Douglas , Premier of Saskatchewan wrote “The inescapable fact is that when we build a society based on greed, selfishness and ruthless competition, the fruits we can expect o reap are economic insecurity at home and international discord abroad”. If Tommy Douglas were alive today, where do you think he would place Drug Companies in retrospect.
First of all your questions of what can the Green Party do if we are in power. We bounce from one party to another at election time; and within that four year mandate citizens have great expectation from promises during a campaign; and we now see from the past the promises are not or can not be met.
All the questions interlock with each other
We need a National Drug Program. We are at the mercy of Drug Companies and it would like to see this changed. There are many people who live below the poverty level (Statistic Canada can’t give you any answer to “at what level is income is considered poverty”!.
I would support a wider access to opening the relationship between Medical Doctors and Naturopathic Doctors to allow patients a choice of which health care remedy would be more beneficial to them. I would support a study then of what remedy, be it traditional or holistic, works for the individual. In the past, Vancouver General Hospital opened up a department to research why so many of west coast residents were taken alternative medicine. I would support a National Program to do this research.
The Canadian Institute of Health information indicates NS has the highest doctor to patient ratio in the country(includes family doctors and specialists), however Doctors NS.report that doctors provide specialized services in NS to people from NB, PEI and NF; teaches the next generation of upcoming doctors and specialist; also doctors work with researchers to understand the effects of drugs. There is little time spent in family practice anymore.
For me, I believe RNs scope of practice ought to be broaden. If there is a national program that all nurses (Nurse Practitioners and RN) should be able to complete the program in the province of their choice and work in the province of their choice.. All foreign Health care professionals ought to able to meet our requirement in a shorter time frame; eliminate the red tapes and include mentorship for a year or so to determine proper qualification. I also believe students who want to be part of the Health Care service (be it Medical Doctors or RNs, or Nurse Practitioners, or Naturopathic Doctors, Specialist) to get their training in a medical facility versus a post secondary facility. Our hospitals and Health care facilities ought to have the latest technology so one isn’t drained with paper work.
We have to work in establishing more community hospitals that can run independently,where communities work together. Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital (built in 1966 after replacing an older hospital built in the 40’s) was a community hospital funded by its Foundation. It stopped being a true hospital once the government stepped it. It is the home for the Veterans, Restorative care, Blood Clinic, and doctors’ office,.
I haven’t answered directly as I don’t have the answers . We see what is lacking as questions like yours comes to us. The Green Party wants to address these issues. Even outside the realm of the Green Party, the biggest advice for all is TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR HEALTH.
Sincerely,
Cecile Vigneault
Pictou West
Green Party NS
902-485-1915
Questions:
Dear Candidate:
Over 202,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer every year, including an estimated 6,000 new cases diagnosed in Nova Scotia, with approximately 2,700 dying of cancer. Clearly, this life-threatening illness affects entire communities, especially families, friends and co-workers.
The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) is a national network of patients, families, survivors, friends, families, community partners and sponsors. Its mission is to work together by taking action to promote the very best standard of care, support, follow up and quality of life for patients and survivors. It aims to educate the public and policy makers about cancer survivorship and encourage research on ways to alleviate barriers to optimal cancer care in Canada.
The government of Nova Scotia has an important role to play in making sure that everyone diagnosed with cancer has timely access to cancer care and essential medical services as well as access to emergency rooms and the treatment and medications they need. There are 106,000 people in Nova Scotia without a family doctor, and the shortage is going to worsen as a growing number of physicians near retirement, recruitment levels are dwindling and health needs are becoming more and more complex (http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1463162-doctorsns-says-we-need-100-new-doctors-a-year-for-10-years).
We invite you to respond to the following questions related to cancer care and healthcare in Nova Scotia. Your responses will be circulated to cancer patients and survivors in Nova Scotia and posted on our website, www.survivornet.ca and on our social media.
Question 1:
The Canadian Medical Association Journal published research in 2014 that showed one in twelve Canadians report they skip doses or decide not to fill prescriptions because of cost.
If elected to government, what will your party do to make prescription medications more affordable?
Question 2:
Healthcare is the number four issue (behind education, labour relations and balanced books) on the minds of NS voters.
If elected:
a) How will your government improve the delivery of cancer care and other healthcare services in NS?
b) Will your government restructure healthcare delivery, and if so, how?
c) How will your government ensure that cancer patients receive the services they need, including home care, financial assistance during recovery and for long-term side effects of cancer and/or treatment?
Question 3:
A key element of ensuring timely treatment for a Canadian cancer patient is ensuring they have access to the medications they need at the time they need them. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in Nova Scotia. As of January 31, 2015 Nova Scotia drug plans covered 23.5% of the 464 new drugs approved by Health Canada from 2004-2013 and the average number days to list the new drug covered under each public drug plan was 681(Coverage for new medicines in Canada’s public drug plans, 2015, Mark Rovere and Dr. Brett J. Skinner).
If elected to government, will you commit to ensuring that all cancer patients in Nova Scotia receive timely access to medications at the time they need it?
Question 4:
Numbers released by Statistics Canada indicate that 11.3 per cent of the population, or just over 100,000 people, did not have access to a health-care provider.
If elected, how will your government ensure that all Nova Scotians have access to a health-care provider?
We thank you for your attention to this important matter.