Health
Cruise ship emissions may be Victoria health concern: report
By March 12, 2010 06:25 pmEmissions from cruise ships may be harming the health of some Victoria residents, according to a newly released air quality report. Read more…
Industry group recognizes BC drug task force chair
By March 11, 2010 03:23 pmAn industry group has given a leadership award to the person who chaired B.C.'s pharmaceutical task force, an award one researcher says is outrageous.
“I have no problem with the industry awarding their own people,” said health policy researcher and author Alan Cassels. “Just don't say you're doing it in the public interest. That's Orwellian. We're not that stupid.” Read more…
Filed inBC considering selling health services to visitors
By March 9, 2010 03:09 pmThe British Columbia government is hoping to sell surgeries to people from outside the province, but has no plans to allow British Columbians to pay for quicker access, says the minister responsible.
“The principle is whether we can generate revenue with our system similar to what we do in post-secondary education,” said health minister Kevin Falcon. Read more…
Filed in-
BC health authority patient records system lacks privacy
By March 5, 2010 05:45 pmVICTORIA, B.C. — British Columbia's largest health authority is being criticized for the second time in a month over the way it handles computerized patient health records.
Privacy Commissioner Paul Fraser said Friday that privacy was the missing ingredient when the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority set up a database containing personal health information that is accessible by about 4,000 users. Read more…
Filed inCharges laid against two provincial officials, doctor
By March 4, 2010 02:35 pmFraud and breach of trust charges have been laid against a British Columbia doctor and two former government employees. Read more…
Filed inChildren's ministry uses insecure computer system too
By February 12, 2010 03:15 pmThe British Columbia auditor general's report this week on the insecurity of electronic records held by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority may be a warning to other public bodies too. Read more…
Filed inBC Auditor General wants better oil and gas oversight
By February 12, 2010 11:14 amThe British Columbia agency that regulates the oil and gas industry needs to provide better information to the province about the liabilities posed by contaminated sites and to provide clearer information to the public about how those site risks are being managed, said a report by the province's auditor general. Read more…
Vancouver health records system had serious security weaknesses
By February 10, 2010 01:45 pmThe Vancouver Coastal Health Authority failed to adequately protect confidential health information, according to an audit report British Columbia's auditor general released today. The VCHA's computerized health records system had “serious security weaknesses,” according to John Doyle's report. Read more…
Filed inTravel program cut for people with disabilities
By February 8, 2010 04:16 pmA program that subsidizes cab rides for people with disabilities has been chopped in at least two British Columbia communities. Read more…
Reducing toxins would fight cancer: MP
By February 5, 2010 05:51 pmWith federal New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton saying today he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer, one of his caucus members said more attention needs to be paid to reducing toxins in the environment. Read more…
Filed inSlow ministry phone response concerns advocate for people with disabilities
By January 25, 2010 04:07 pmA Victoria advocate for people with disabilities said it's getting harder to get help from the government over the phone. Read more…
Filed inProvince's complaint response policy should match law: report
By January 19, 2010 04:25 pmThe ministry for children and family development could improve how it resolves complaints from children in government care by meeting the 30-day time limit set out in law, according to a report released today.
Instead of meeting the 30-day law, the joint report from B.C.'s Ombudsperson Kim Carter and the representative for children and youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said, the ministry has a policy to respond to complaints within 60 days. Read more…
Filed inCommission outlines ambulance options, including private delivery
By January 18, 2010 01:11 pmA report on the Britich Columbia Ambulance Service released today recommends five options ranging from keeping the status quo to privatizing the service. Read more…
Ottawa loses appeal in supervised injection site case; site to remain open
By January 15, 2010 01:06 pmCanada's attorney general and minister of health have lost their appeal of a court ruling on Vancouver's controversial supervised injection site, raising proponents' hopes that similar facilities will now open in other cities.
The B.C. Appeal Court rejected Ottawa's appeal in a unanimous ruling announced Friday. Read more…
Filed inDocuments confirm plan to sell ‘unused capacity’ in BC operating rooms
By January 12, 2010 01:19 pmNew Democratic Party health critic Adrian Dix said newly released documents confirm Premier Gordon Campbell offered to sell surgeries to people from Saskatchewan even as his government was cutting surgeries for B.C. residents. Read more…
Filed inOmbudsperson recommends improvements to seniors' care
By December 17, 2009 11:32 amBritish Columbia ombudperson Kim Carter has provided 10 recommendations to improve care for seniors in part one of her report on the sector, not all of which the government has accepted. Read more…
BC sees continued sharp fall in H1N1 deaths
By December 15, 2009 03:45 pmB.C. recorded 23 new cases of H1N1 influenza in the past week, but only two persons died of the disease. The figures reflect a continuing local decline in the intensity of the pandemic. Read more…
Filed inVictoria loses appeal of right-to-shelter case
By December 9, 2009 01:15 pmThe City of Victoria has lost its appeal of a 2008 court ruling that struck down the city's anti-camping bylaws while the number of people who are homeless exceeds the number of available shelter beds.
“The court has made it clear they are going to take the rights of homeless people, the most marginalized people in the city, seriously,” said Catherine Boies Parker, a lawyer who along with Irene Faulkner represented a group of people who were forced out of a tent city set up in a city park in 2005. Read more…
Homeless apprehensions could begin this weekend
By December 4, 2009 02:15 pmTemperatures are forecast to plunge during the coming week, and the perceived right to sleep on B.C.'s streets could fall in lock step as the new Assistance to Shelter Act takes effect. Read more…
BCNU applies to represent LPNs now with HEU
By December 1, 2009 04:01 pmThe British Columbian Nurses' Union filed an application yesterday with the Labour Relations Board asking to represent licensed practical nurses who are now Hospital Employees' Union members. Read more…
The next page contains:
First Nations at higher risk of HIV/AIDS
BC reports 8 new H1N1 deaths but peak is over
BC may train fewer midwives without more funding
Health ministry quit taking TI's independent drug advice
BC leads on child poverty, minister says province improving
Paramedics reject industrial inquiry commission, demand 'true terms of reference'
Health minister Falcon comfortable with drug advisor's new role with Pfizer
BC reports 5 new H1N1 deaths but peak may be over
BC government drug policy advisor appointed to Pfizer position
Health Committee to review pharmaceutical rep's bias on research board
Paramedics show their frustration
Paramedics book off sick, decline extra shifts
Kendall: Flu may have levelled off
Aglukkaq 'disturbed' that Taliban POWs offered H1N1 shots
Victoria hospital dispute won’t affect building quality: project manager
BC records 8 new H1N1 deaths
Rix friend of British Columbia, Liberal Party
BC considering offering 'surgical tourism': Sask. health minister
Kendall: 'We're learning as we go' on vaccinations
Premium needed for Saskatchewan surgeries: BC's Falcon
The page after that contains:
BC orders paramedics back to work
Saskatchewan premier balks at 'premium' for BC surgeries
Kendall: Vaccine supply will drop next week
BC downplaying H1N1 vaccine shortage
Province inconsistent on shelter: BCCLA's Eby
Nurses' union faces rank and file rebellion
H1N1 cases already overtake BC pandemic plan forecast
BC failed to track how many affected by IQ rule
Pharmacists giving flu shots wastes money: BCNU's McPherson
Drugs, art and the Downtown Eastside
Campbell cuts surgeries for British Columbians, offers them to Saskatchewan
Two die, 33 hospitalized with H1N1 in past week
Budget cuts threaten money-saving Vancouver Island health-care clinic
BC shows third week of 'sharp increases' in flu
Over 8 million Canadians sick with swine flu by New Year's?
Aglukkaq, Butler-Jones say little in H1N1 news conference
Leaked flu report suggests problems in BC health: Dix
Health minister Falcon hikes residential care rates
RCMP search warrant alleges BC health ministry fraud
Portable toilets give 'third world chic' to Gabriola ferry: tour organizer
Last week of winter
I'm Crawford Kilian, editing The Hook this week. The North Shore has fresh snow, and the Paralympians are making the most of season's end.
But we suspect the political weather, provincial and federal, will be sweltering by the time the spring equinox arrives next Saturday. Climate change? We're due for it.
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