After years of provincial handwringing about nurse, physician and medical technician shortages, how on earth can our newbie, whiz-bang import Mr. Ducket think we believe that he’ll offer buyouts only to people in the health system whose disappearance will have no effect on patient care?
Do the numbers – to achieve $300 million in savings means, at the very least, 3,000 fewer staff. No effect on patient care, Mr. Duckett? Ri-i-i-i-ght. Duckett truly must think we are Neanderthals, because he brazenly upped the PR ante by claiming that his cuts will actually improve patient care.
Maybe he’s right. After all, this is the guy who made a critical, province-wide nursing shortage go poof! with a news release and a hiring freeze.
Normally, we’d trust in political leaders to see through bafflegab the like of which Mr. Duckett and his spin doctors have spewed, and rein them in.
But wait, his boss is a tough-talkin’, high school diploma kinda guy who knows where he’s goin’, aims to git there – damn the torpedoes! – so he hired a gunslinger with a whole bunch of letters after his name to help him git there. He’s up there in the owner’s box, cheering Duckett on.
The whole thing reminds me of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, whose ideological deafness to enormous choruses of reason from a complete cross-section of the electorate left the US and the rest of world in one holy-doodle of a pickle.
Alberta’s health care system is in ‘bick’ trouble.
Friday, August 28, 2009
One more time, Lord?
The way the provincial government ‘managed’ things during its second crack at an oil boom makes me wonder if someday I’ll have a bumper sticker that says ‘O Lord, give us oil boom #3, and we promise not to piss this one away!’
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