Minister of Health Pat Atkinson: Making Immediate & Band Aid decisions in Healthcare

Minister of Health Pat Atkinson:

Making Immediate & Band Aid Decisions in Healthcare

By Mario deSantis, January 23, 2000

grandiose effort to rightsize healthcare The Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA) has repeatedly warned the government

of impending nursing shortages⁽¹⁾, however our bureaucrats and politicians were too busy to listen

to the SRNA and they continued with their grandiose effort to rightsize healthcare⁽²⁾. The

rightsizing efforts didn't work out as strategically planned and now, besides the many problems

in health care, we are experiencing a shortage of nurses⁽³⁾.

save money since we are not going to pay for the training Our affable Health Minister Pat Atkinson has just reviewed a governmental commissioned

report⁽⁴⁾ on the shortage of nurses and as a consequence, she has immediately designed a

three-pronged strategy to find solutions to this problem. She has stated that "we need to keep

the nurses who are graduating, we need to retain the nurses we have and we need to recruit

nurses from other jurisdictions". Also, she stated that a provincial Web site has been established

for facilitating the recruitment of nurses from countries such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Pat Atkinson should be very proud of this international recruitment strategy, not only we are going

to rightsize the number of nurses but we are going to save money since we are not going to pay for

the training of our international nurses.

The saga of our incompetent healthcare leaders continues Tonight, I have been watching the news on TV and I just came to know that Pat Atkinson,

without consulting with the SRNA professional body, has made the tough decision to reduce

the university nursing program to three years from four. Congratulations to Pat Atkinson for

putting Saskatchewan healthcare on the map of the world, for saving money, and for taking the

immediate decisions to rightsize again and again the university nursing program. The saga of our

incompetent healthcare leaders continues.

--------------Endnotes:

1.
Nurses voice concerns, by Neil Scott, The Leader Post, January 21, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

2.
-
Health Reform in Saskatchewan: Digging Holes in the Ground, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, October 20, 1999

3.
-
Saskatchewan Nursing Shortage: Shifting the blame for our own Incompetence, by Mario deSantis, November 27, 1999

4.
-
Province faces eight-year nursing shortage, by Martin O'Hanlon, The StarPhoenix, Jan 20, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Minister of Health Pat Atkinson: Making Immediate & Band Aid Decisions in Healthcare
*By Mario deSantis, January 23, 2000*

grandiose effort to rightsize healthcare	The Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association (SRNA) has repeatedly warned the government
	of impending nursing shortages⁽¹⁾, however our bureaucrats and politicians were too busy to listen
	to the SRNA and they continued with their grandiose effort to rightsize healthcare⁽²⁾. The
	rightsizing efforts didn't work out as strategically planned and now, besides the many problems
	in health care, we are experiencing a shortage of nurses⁽³⁾.

save money since we are not going to pay for the training	Our affable Health Minister Pat Atkinson has just reviewed a governmental commissioned
	report⁽⁴⁾ on the shortage of nurses and as a consequence, she has immediately designed a
	three-pronged strategy to find solutions to this problem. She has stated that "we need to keep
	the nurses who are graduating, we need to retain the nurses we have and we need to recruit
	nurses from other jurisdictions". Also, she stated that a provincial Web site has been established
	for facilitating the recruitment of nurses from countries such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
	Pat Atkinson should be very proud of this international recruitment strategy, not only we are going
	to rightsize the number of nurses but we are going to save money since we are not going to pay for
	the training of our international nurses.

The saga of our incompetent healthcare leaders continues	Tonight, I have been watching the news on TV and I just came to know that Pat Atkinson,
	without consulting with the SRNA professional body, has made the tough decision to reduce
	the university nursing program to three years from four. Congratulations to Pat Atkinson for
	putting Saskatchewan healthcare on the map of the world, for saving money, and for taking the
	immediate decisions to rightsize again and again the university nursing program. The saga of our
	incompetent healthcare leaders continues.

--------------Endnotes:
1.	Nurses voice concerns, by Neil Scott, The Leader Post, January 21, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

2. -	Health Reform in Saskatchewan: Digging Holes in the Ground, by Mario deSantis and reviewed by James deSantis, October 20, 1999

3. -	Saskatchewan Nursing Shortage: Shifting the blame for our own Incompetence, by Mario deSantis, November 27, 1999

4. -	Province faces eight-year nursing shortage, by Martin O'Hanlon, The StarPhoenix, Jan 20, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan