http://www.canada.com/montreal/story.asp?id={E6B6574A-14F9-4DBF-A639-8B501012BBDF}
Cut waste in health system, MD urges KINDA JAYOUSH The Gazette Wednesday, February 19, 2003 ADVERTISEMENT Quebec's health-care system should be reformed to cut expenses and reduce the burden on taxpayers, a former head of the Quebec College of Physicians and Surgeons says. "There is enough money in the system, but it is badly spent," Dr. Augustin Roy, who was president of the doctors' professional order for 20 years, said yesterday. "The federal government is giving a lot of money to the provinces. Where do they take that money from? They take it from the taxpayers' pocket." Roy made his comments at the launch of his book Permettez-moi de vous dire" (Let Me Tell You) at the College's offices on Ren� L�vesque Blvd. W. He said Quebec spends about 42 per cent of its budget on health care, compared with 46 per cent in Ontario. "That is nonsense. I think not more than one-third of the budget should go to health expenses. It used to be around 30 per cent 10 years ago (in Quebec)." Health-care spending could be reduced if hospitals were merged, the number of regional boards was decreased and bureaucracy at CLSCs controlled, he said. "I would very much like to see a big hospital, like the Montreal General, have two or three smaller hospitals, four or five CLSCs and nursing homes under its administration," he said. Roy accused Premier Bernard Landry and Quebec Health Minister Fran�ois Legault of using the health-care issue to lure votes ahead of the election expected this year. "This year, they got $1 billion from Ottawa. They are very happy ... and in the next few weeks, you will see that the money will be spent to decrease the waiting list, for example," he said. "But we have to explain to the taxpayers what we do with the money. The people who pay must know. They have the right to know and they should question the government about that." Roy accused the government of carrying out needless rationing, saying there is enough money in the health-care system to spare patients long waits. "There is no reason for people to wait a year to get a hip or a knee replacement," he said. Roy described his book, which outlines the history of health care in Quebec, as observations from "his 50 years of medical practice and involvement in medical affairs. [EMAIL PROTECTED] � Copyright 2003 Montreal Gazette __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --- URG-L Pour quitter URG-L, envoyez un message a la liste ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) avec, COMME SUJET, le mot REMOVE (rien d'autre).
