Toronto (June 14, 2005) - Outgoing Chair of the Board of Trustees of University Health Network Welcomes Supreme Court Decision As A Way of Broadening Discussion about Health Care Toronto, Ontario: Mr. Anthony S. Fell, the outgoing Chair of the Board of Trustees of University Health Network (UHN), commented on two major public policy bright spots today at the organization's Annual General Meeting which should provide hope and confidence that positive change and reform are in the air for Canada's health care system.
The first is the much-publicized decision last Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada respecting healthcare insurance in the Province of Quebec. Mr. Fell said hopefully this Supreme Court's decision indicates "a new day is dawning" on healthcare in Canada, which will legitimize a far more open and public debate on various options to improve our healthcare system.
"The Supreme Court's decision is a vindication of many of the reforms advocated by Senator Michael Kirby in his healthcare report in 2002 which called for increased competition in the delivery of healthcare," said Mr. Fell. "I welcome this decision as very good news because it may, at long last, start the process of breaking the massive logjam to meaningful healthcare reform."
The second bright spot Mr. Fell commented on is "a major new public policy initiative here in Ontario, which, in my view, has significant potential to substantially improve and quality and efficiency of healthcare in our Province. The proposed integration of healthcare in Ontario through the creation of fourteen healthcare regions knows as Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).
"This is major change with great promise," Mr. Fell said. "With the proper leadership from the LHINs, I believe this new structure affords a major opportunity to improve the quality of healthcare while, at the same time, managing expenses. We have to break the mould for the delivery of health care and hopefully the new LHIN structure and the recent Supreme Court decision will prove powerful allies."
