Letters, Aug 7
Re: Nurses give NDP a fail on working conditions (July 30) and Public patience wearing thin waiting on NDP health fix (Aug. 1)
The number of active practicing RNs, RPNs and LPNs in Manitoba continues to grow each year, and yet there is no tangible improvement to working conditions and the effects of the problem on the overall health care system.
The June 2005 Five Year Progress Report on the Manitoba Nursing Strategy indicates a total of 14,175 practicing RNs, RPNs and LPNs in 2000.
The 2024 annual reports for the three regulatory colleges shows the total number of active practicing nurses in Manitoba to be 19,731.
This obviously begs the question when there are more nurses in Manitoba than ever before, why are there are still high numbers of vacancies, overtime rates and poor working conditions for nurses?
One factor is likely a high ratio of part-time to full-time nursing positions.
The ideal ratio cited by the 2002 Canadian Nursing Advisory Committee Report is 70 per cent full-time to 30 per cent part-time.
However, even getting to 60 per cent full-time would be a step toward stabilizing Manitoba's nursing workforce.
While other provinces have reached or are close to the 70/30 ratio (Canadian Institute for Health Information reports), by all observations Manitoba is probably in the 50 per cent or lower range.
It was 39 per cent in 2000 when Manitoba first collected and publicly reported nursing workforce data, which it continued to do for 10 years as part of the province's Nursing Strategy.
The government should work with nursing groups to establish and articulate clear, measurable goals and report their progress, as well as publicly releasing nursing workforce data that includes the full-time/part-time ratios for lasting, permanent nursing positions.
And as a final point, increasing nursing full-time ratios can be done while respecting the importance of work-life balance for nurses and those who choose to work part-time. By allowing nurses to job share a 1.0 full-time equivalent position as one option, Ontario was able to reach a ratio of 71 per cent full-time positions for RNs.
There is now 25 years of evidence in Manitoba to support the need for the nursing workforce issues to be addressed by means other than adding more nurses to the system.
Liz Ambrose
Winnipeg
I take exception to Francis Newman's claim that even hateful views should be allowed.
Hateful views are a slippery slope to more hate.
We should not tolerate hateful views; especially when they target vulnerable people. Democracy is better when we stop expressing hateful views.
As for Sean Feucht's concert; I'm glad his concert was cancelled as Central Park was not the place for that.
Central Park is a public space meant for the residents to enjoy. Sean Feucht is still free to find a private space for his concert.
Leanne Hanuschuk
Winnipeg
Re: Optometrists refuse to treat urgent cases over fee dispute with province, July 23
While bringing public attention to this important situation, this article overlooks the critical role that ophthalmologists play in emergency eye care.
An ophthalmologist is a physician and surgeon, trained in medical and surgical eye care. Optometrists are trained to provide primary eye care which includes performing eye exams, refractions for glasses and treating a limited scope of eye diseases. Unlike ophthalmologists, optometrists are not medical doctors and do not perform surgery. Ophthalmologists and optometrists work together to provide comprehensive eye care.
There are no optometrists based at Misericordia seeing emergency eye patients, which this article seems to imply. Patients with an eye problem may initially present to their optometrist, family doctor, emergency department or the Misericordia Health Centre (MHC). The MHC has a Clinical Resource Team consisting of a primary care physician and a nurse who see emergency eye patients at Misericordia. This team was developed after the 2017 closure of Misericordia Urgent Care. The WRHA has recently been trying to recruit more physicians for the CRT to deal with the higher volume of patients redirected from optometry offices due to their job action. Patients seen at Misericordia or elsewhere are assessed and treated as appropriate or referred to the ophthalmologist on call for eye emergencies who is often located at a private clinic.
Ophthalmologists manage eye emergencies in Manitoba and surrounding areas (population 1.75 million) and take referrals from other doctors and optometrists. There are only 19 ophthalmologists covering general on call eye services in this catchment area, which translates to a ratio of 1.08 ophthalmologists per 100,000 population. Whereas the rest of Canada has three to four ophthalmologists per 100,000 population, we have an ophthalmology staffing shortage that will worsen with imminent retirements.
EPSOM (Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba) has been advocating for a better system and the development of a properly structured and staffed urgent eye clinic at Misericordia with ophthalmologists on site. The job action that optometrists have taken since March 2025 has caused increased stress to an already overburdened system by directing more patients to Misericordia and consequently more referrals to ophthalmology. This has caused further delays in booking routine ophthalmology consultations and surgeries, compromising expeditious patient care. We hope that the government can support our work and improve this system at all levels.
J. W. Rahman, MD FRCSC
President of EPSOM
Winnipeg
Re: Imagining that the machine is human (Aug. 5)
David Nutbean made many good points about computers and AI. However, declaring that 'they don't really think' should be done cautiously.
I agree that AI systems are not human. 'Being human' suggests cognitive and many biological characteristics. Today's AI systems share few of those. 'Thinking' is trickier. Yes, computer technology and human brains differ greatly, but does that mean AI doesn't think?
Many mysteries remain about human cognition, so precisely defining what thinking means is difficult.
If thinking includes both what humans do mentally and how we do it, then its definition seems guaranteed to exclude all non-humans. However, if a 'thinking' definition ignores how it's done, and instead includes various what characteristics like reacting, reasoning, creating, remembering and communicating, then AI systems are in the ballpark.
If thinking must include feeling emotion, how can we distinguish between a person angrily disputing a referee's ruling and the ranting of the Grok AI system?
How can we objectively know the difference between a person and ChatGPT saying 'I love you'?
Until we clearly understand what it means to think, we shouldn't rush to declare that humans can and that computers cannot. If what Donald Trump does is an example of thinking, then what characteristic would disqualify AI systems?
Calvin Brown
RM of St. Andrews
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
6 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. Conservatives call for action after leaked recommendations on expensive rare-disease drugs
The B.C. Conservatives have demanded the NDP government provide a 'clear' status update on a four-year-old review that urged changes to the province's expensive rare-disease drug system. They have also called for the public release of the review and timelines for implementing its recommendations. The review — which was not made public — was obtained by Postmedia independently after the B.C. government refused to provide a copy. 'The leak of this four-year-old review is frustrating — but it confirms exactly what we've been saying since February,' said Brennan Day, the Conservative critic for rural and seniors' health. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Families like Charleigh Pollock's were left in the dark, forced to fight for life-changing treatments while bureaucrats sat on recommendations that could have prevented this. Transparency is not a website. It's real oversight, real engagement, and a system that works for patients — not just for the bureaucracy,' said Day, who is the MLA for Courtenay-Comox. Premier David Eby and Health Minister Josie Osborne have called for an overhaul of the expensive drug treatment for rare diseases approval process after their government faced public backlash for discontinuing the $800,000-a-year drug treatment for 10-year-old Pollock, who has an incurable degenerative disease. When the government reversed their decision last month — against the advice of its own 58-member advisory committee — Eby said it was obvious the system was not working. But the B.C. government had already received recommendations in 2021 for better transparency, clearer communication and stronger decision-making when it comes to funding and treating rare diseases with expensive drugs. These are the same areas that Eby and Osborne said need to be addressed. The review noted there was 'urgency' to making changes because spending on expensive rare-disease drugs was expected to grow significantly , to an estimated $600 million annually by the end of the decade. Day said the NDP government should release the full 2021 review with a status update on what has and hasn't been implemented. He also called for a public timeline to fully implement the outstanding recommendations, prioritizing oversight, transparency and patient engagement. Day also said that families need to be included in conversations and decisions that directly affect access to their expensive rare-disease drug treatments. Few of the 2021 review's recommendations have been implemented, according to those familiar with the report. The B.C. Ministry of Health has told Postmedia the 'majority' of the report's recommendations have been implemented or 'are part of ongoing work.' However, officials pointed only to only two that have been completed out of more than 300 recommendations: an expensive drug for rare disease web page it said supports transparency; and the establishment of an appeal process. The recommendations on transparency in the report — there are 39 mentions — go well beyond a website. They also involve increasing oversight, setting standards, establishing public engagement and a major communication plan. ghoekstra@
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Fraser Health announces new president and CEO
B.C.'s largest health authority has a new boss. Fraser Health announced Dermot Kelly, most recently a vice-president at the authority, will take over the CEO job. He takes over at a time when health care in the region has been facing challenges with closures, staffing and long wait times - problems that one Conservative MLA argues is the fault of the NDP government.
Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Carleton researcher probes health effects of wildfire smoke
Article content The 'Great Smog of London' in December 1952 killed an estimated 4,000 people that month. Researchers have tallied an additional 8,000 deaths in the following two months — although there has been debate about how many of these 'excess' deaths were attributable to influenza. Article content 'We've spent decades assessing the health effects of air pollution, including sources like traffic,' said Villeneuve. Article content Over time, researchers have found that there are important health effects from short day-to-day increases in pollution levels as well as health effects from living in areas of high pollution for years, he said. Article content However, wildfire smoke pollution is different from air pollution caused by cars or industry because it's more organic. Exposure to wildfire smoke has been linked to a number of conditions that can prompt a visit to an emergency room or a hospital admission, ranging from anxiety and depression to low-birthweight babies. Article content Article content A 2024 UNICEF report found that fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke is up to 10 times more harmful to children's respiratory health compared to particulate matter of the same size from other sources, particularly for children under five. Prenatal exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with low birthweight, premature birth and increased risk of stillbirth, said the report. Article content 'We would love to expand the study to include younger people and children. Young children, for example, are more susceptible to wildfire smoke because their lungs are still developing,' said Villeneuve. Article content Technically, every person in Ontario and B.C. will be captured in the study. But people over 65 are more likely to have at least one chronic condition, and both provinces collect data on provincial drug benefits, which indicates types of chronic conditions. Article content Article content According to a study published 2024 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, more than 80 per cent of older adults reported having at least one chronic condition, and 33 per cent reported having three or more chronic conditions. Article content Statistics Canada reported that 45.1 per cent of Canadians had at least one chronic condition in 2021, and 8.3 per cent had three or more conditions ranging from arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, mood disorders and anxiety. The category also included anyone who had ever been diagnosed with cancer or heart disease.
