Canada recruits hundreds of Practical Nurses from Jamaica

Hundreds of Jamaicans were recruited in October to work in health care, the construction and hospitality service sectors in British Columbia through the Ministry's Canadian Overseas Employment Programme.

The group included mainly certified practical nurses, but also a group of pipe-fitters, welders, and carpenters.

Over the years, Jamaicans have been recruited to work in Ontario, Montreal, Quebec and New Brunswick on the Overseas Farm Work Programme but this is the first time that employees are being requested for the health care, hospitality and construction sectors.

Canada will be recruiting approximately 2,000 practical nurses by the end of 2008.

As part of the recruitment programme, there is a partnership between the Okanagan College and the HEART/NTA, to ensure the certification of workers so that they will be ready to go directly into the workforce once they arrive in Canada.

Source: JIS

485 New Brunswickers' Medicare records disappeared

"Medical records simply vanished"

The medicare information of 485 New Brunswickers has gone missing, Health Minister Mike Murphy told the legislature Tuesday.

The data was being sent on four magnetic tapes from New Brunswick to Richmond, British Columbia on Oct. 3 by courier. The confidential medical records of 133 British Columbians were also lost.

"This is a very regrettable incident and I want to tell those whose personal information is contained on the cartridges that we are very concerned and proactive over what has happened," Murphy said.

There is no evidence that any of the information contained on the computer cartridges has been misused, Murphy said.

The government will be doing whatever it can to protect the information contained in the records so that it is not misused and will continue to try to locate their whereabouts, the minister said.

"The information is written on technology that is only used in data centres. We believe it was misplaced. There is no evidence otherwise and we are doing a full review."

The data was being sent under an agreement about sharing information about residents of one province using the health system of another.

Records show they arrived in the western province on Oct. 5 but somehow vanished without getting into the hands of provincial health officials.

The exact sequence of events is not yet clear, said Murphy, and New Brunswick is continuing to investigate what happened.

New Brunswick health authorities were not informed that the records were missing until Oct. 25 and Murphy said the province's director of medicare operations was not told until Nov. 29.

Murphy found out late last week.

"There has been a failure of communication within the Health Department, a failure of communication within jurisdictions and a failure of communication to the public," Conservative MLA Bruce Fitch told the legislature."This is a very serious matter!"

The province has issued a directive to British Columbia stating it will now only send billing information on encrypted compact discs rather than the out-dated cartridge format that has been in use since 1989.

New Brunswick hopes to have an electronic health record system up and running by 2009 and Murphy has promised to table legislation in the spring to protect those files.

CBC

Editor:

"There seems to be a lot of failure lately!"

New Brunswick health care workers highest absence rate

New Brunswick health care workers posted the highest absenteeism rates in the country last year, according to numbers released last Monday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Provincial health workers, ages 25 to 54, logged an average of 16.1 lost days in 2006.

That figure is more than double that of Alberta, which had the lowest numbers, at 7.2 lost days. Nova Scotia recorded a rate of 9.7. Manitoba placed second last, just ahead of New Brunswick, with an average of 16 days lost. The national average was 12 days.

The report, titled Canada’s Health Care Providers, notes such levels far exceed national averages for the general workforce.

Ambulance-services buyout

"Province shortchanging us," say ambulance owners

Private ambulance operators in New Brunswick say they’re disappointed with the latest offer which would see their vehicles and equipment taken over by the province’s new unified ambulance service.

Medavie Blue Cross will operate Ambulance NB, and a deadline of Friday at 1 p.m. has been set to reach a deal to compensate private companies who now operate 55 of the province’s 125 ambulances.

Brian Van Tassel, president of the New Brunswick Ambulance Operators Association, says they were given an offer Monday night, but it does nothing to prevent them from having to continue carrying expensive liability insurance for the next three years.

Health Minister Mike Murphy says a fair offer has been made and he’s confident that a deal can be reached.

However, he says if talks fail, Ambulance NB is prepared to assume the lease on the ambulances and begin delivering the service anyway.

The Chronicle Herald

New Brunswick hospital improves bilingual service after complaint

Last week, the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick has apologized to a French-speaking couple from Campbellton in the same Provence, who filed a complaint they were not offered proper medical service in French.

The francophone couple from northern New Brunswick, Annelle and Romain Bouchard, spent 21 days at the hospital last November.

While Romain developed complications during his heart treatment and was near death, Bouchard said she wasn't able to find anyone on staff who could explain what was happening in French.

On a number of occasions, Mrs. Bouchard said she had to depend on help of family members of other patients who were bilingual, to translate for her.

Dr. Marc Pelletier, the cardiac surgeon, said the hospital is now taking necessary steps to avoid future language problems.

"We've already called back every one of our patients who is on the waiting list to identify their preferred language," Pelletier state. "This information will be listed on their charts".

He also said that the hospital is establishing a paging system that will ensure a translator is close at hand, he said.

Patients from all parts of the province who need cardiac care go to the heart center in Saint John.

"The heart centre has a mandate and a "moral obligation" to service patients in their language", Pelletier said.

Approximately 50 percent of the nurses at the hospital are certified as bilingual, he said, and several members of the staff are currently taking language training.

Pelletier said he is sorry the Bouchards had an unfortunate experience at the hospital but said it was a rare situation.

About 95 per cent of the communication with the Bouchards during their stay was in French, he said, but there were at least two situations where it was not promptly provided.

"People are trying so hard," Pelletier said, "and to have people come up to me in the hallway and say, 'You know, I really was trying. I was speaking to them in French every day. It's kind of my broken French and to have this come out, is this my fault? To explain to that nurse, 'No it's not your fault. You did a great job.'"

"Most francophone patients who are treated at the hospital leave having had a good experience," he said.

CBC