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Saskatchewan was the first province to regionalize the delivery of health services and the blue print for this reform was the "Saskatchewan Vision for Health(1)." This vision of health was later legislated and the health districts were established. These districts were supposed to be independent and community owned, instead they became the puppets of this government(2) and a place where nepotism and corruption bred within the related boards, the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations(3) (SAHO) and Saskatchewan Health(4).

Today, Health Minister Pat Atkinson says "We need a provincial plan(5)." So, this is the admission by Pat Atkinson that for the last nine years this government didn't have a plan for health care, however they had plans to fatten the pockets of their business friends(6) along with a stream of specialized researchers and consultants. This government and SAHO have been making a mess of health care as:

they have not been listening to health workers for the last some eight years(7),
they mismanaged health resources for the implementation of the Saskatchewan Health Information Network (SHIN)(8),
they manage a reactionary and consequential racist behaviour(9) hidden under their economic policies driven by saving money rather than building healthier communities(10),
they blame Ottawa for all the health care problems,
they direct the districts to draw health plans in secrecy(11),
they make it clear that cost control is the major economic driver(12) at the expense of the independence and entrepreneurship of the districts.

Minister Pat Atkinson, how can you ever empower employees or communities when you ask that the districts' health plans be drawn in secrecy? Minister Pat Atkinson, you are breaking the law because The Health Districts Act states that the health plans must be presented to the general public prior to their approval.

Minister Pat Atkinson, how can any manager of any health district be responsible for their budgets if they have no say in the drawing of these budgets?

Minister Pat Atkinson, how can any manager of any health district be responsible for their budgets if they don't receive ongoing reports for the accounting of their budgeted and actual expenses?

Minister Pat Atkinson, the next direction of the wind will not be for you to make another decision(13), it will be the sign of your departure from your ministry, and hopefully, a return to common sense democracy.

Endnotes

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by Ensign

1. Saskatchewan Vision for Health, Honourable Louise Simard, Minister of Health, Saskatchewan Health, August 1992

2. The two primary needs of health reform: independence of the districts & the booting out of hoodlums, by Mario deSantis, April 5, 2000

3. NEED OF TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES IN SASKATCHEWAN: Healthcare Reform and New Economic Policies, Part 3. Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law? By Mario deSantis, October 29, 1998

4. Saskatchewan Health Care: Mississippi Burning of the Year 1964, by Mario deSantis, February 25, 2000

5. Atkinson's won't rule out more hospital closures, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, May 13, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

6. Governments must stop to serve themselves and their friends, by Mario deSantis, February 12, 2000

7. News Releases, Saskatchewan Government, Apr 12, 1999, Health 99 - 287, MINISTER APPEALS TO NURSES http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/1999Apr/287.99041205.html

8. Associate Minister of Health Judy Junor: defending the SHIN flop at the Legislature, by Mario deSantis, April 13, 2000

9. EXAMPLES OF MENTAL MODELS IN SASKATCHEWAN HEALTH CARE AND RACISM, by Mario deSantis, July 29, 1998

10. Premier Romanow's Government: The Obsession of Saving Money Versus Building Healthier Communities, by Mario deSantis, March 21, 2000

11. Atkinson's won't rule out more hospital closures, by Murray Mandryk, The StarPhoenix, May 13, 2000, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. An excerpt "She also defended her government's decision to impose what the Saskatchewan Party opposition has called "gag order" on health board members across the province. The order prevents them from publicly discussing proposed changes in each district before they are all delivered to the province's Department of Health"

12. Health Transition Fund being used to cut deficits, by James Parker, The Leader-Post, May 17, 2000, Regina, Saskatchewan

13. Pat Atkinson: raising the finger and turning healthcare to a gambling casino, by Mario deSantis, February 3, 2000