Ontario Forgetting the North in Northern Health Care?
From the EDITOR: I am dissapointed to share that I contacted the media line for Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in regards to this press release as in the 3rd paragraph where it now reads “roundtable discussions will take place throughout the province in…”, it originally read “including in…” which I felt implied there were other locations not listed – there are not. While clearing this up with media relations I brought up my concern that in wanting to improve rural and northern healthcare it is dissapointing that there are only 2 of the 11 locations for public round tables in Northern Ontario (New Liskeard & Dryden) and that it is not realistic to think that this represents a cross-section of Northern Ontario concerns; there was a long pause on the other end of the phone and I felt that these concerns were not really of interest to the Ministry. I would suggest that people who are concerned with the lack of public consultation in Northern Ontario in regards to Health Care in Northern Ontario write the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care to express these concerns and/or write your Member of Provincial Parliament (not via email but as regular snail-mail).
Improving Rural And Northern Health Care
January 12, 2011
McGuinty Government Seeking Input To Address Unique Health Care Challenges
Ontarians are being asked to provide their feedback on how to provide the best access to quality health care services in rural and northern areas of the province.
Specifically, Ontarians are invited to respond to recommendations made by the Rural and Northern Health Care Panel. There are a number of ways that the public can make its views known – including online at www.ontario.ca/ruralnorthernhealth, by phone and in-person at roundtable discussions in rural communities across the province.
The roundtable discussions will take place throughout the province in Temiskaming Shores (New Liskeard), Burford, Hanover, Drayton, Shelburne, Petrolia, Renfrew, Picton, Haliburton, Orillia and Dryden. Residents can register to participate in these sessions at www.ontario.ca/ruralnorthernhealth.
Improving access to health care services in rural and northern Ontario is part of the province’s Open Ontario plan to ensure quality health care services for all patients while improving accountability.
QUICK FACTS
- More than 1.9 million Ontarians live in rural, remote and northern areas of the province.
- The government has created more than 80 new Family Health Teams in rural and northern Ontario.
- When the Northern Ontario School of Medicine opened in September 2005, it became the first new medical school in Canada in over 30 years.
