Vancouver's Supervised injection facility challenges Canada's drug laws

Federal Government should follow the evidence and stop trying to close Insite, Co-authors of new CMAJ Article Say

Drs. Kathleen Dooling and Michael Rachlis, the two co-authors of a new review of the evidence and events surrounding Insite – Vancouver ’s supervised drug consumption public health facility – say the federal government “should drop its last-ditch Supreme Court appeal that would allow the government to permanently close this public health facility. They should stand back so public health and law enforcement professionals can do the work that their local community wants them to do.”  Read More

NSSCM joins coalition of leaders seeking meeting with Clement on the census

July 19, 2010

SURPRISING COALITION OF LEADERS SEEKS A MEETING WITH CLEMENT ON THE CENSUS

Request to work with Industry Minister and Prime Minister Harper to craft a solution that meets the needs of all Canadians

TORONTO – The following letter to Industry Minister Tony Clement and Prime Minister Stephen Harper was released today. The letter calls on the federal government to reconsider its decision to end the long-form census. Read more...

Media Release: Canada still one of world's largest exporters of Chrysotile asbestos

National health organizations are calling on governments to ban the use and export of asbestos

OTTAWA, June 30 /CNW Telbec/ - The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the National Specialty Society for Community Medicine (NSSCM) are calling on the federal and provincial governments to stop mining asbestos and to ban its use and export. Read more.

Isra Levy Named Ottawa's Physician of the Year

Isra Levy, MD, FRCPC, long-standing NSSCM member and past NSSCM Treasurer and Council member, has received the Ottawa Physician of the Year Award from the Academy of Medicine of Ottawa. The award recognizes local physicians for their contributions to the community. As Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Levy's leadership protects the health of some 900,000 Canadians. The excellent work of his team was demonstrated most recently during the city's successful response to the H1N1 pandemic.

Minimum Competencies for Medical Officers of Health in Canada

Recent reviews of Canada’s public health system have stressed the importance of strengthening the public health workforce. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes of individuals, collectively referred to as “competencies”, are considered basic building blocks to support a comprehensive approach to workforce development. Core competencies for the public health workforce have now been developed and were released in 2007 “Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada: Release 1.0.”

The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) Competencies Working Group, with the support of the Public Health Agency of Canada, have been working to produce a set of  Minimum Competencies for MOHs in Canada. The initial draft document has been extensively revised based on input from MOHs and stakeholder groups and is now available as "A set of Minimum Competencies for Medical Officers of Health in Canada".

For further information or to comment on the Minimum Competencies for MOHs in Canada please contact: corecompetencies @ phac-aspc.gc.ca

“Compétences essentielles en santé publique au Canada, version 1.0.”

"Description des compétences de base des directeurs de santé publique et des médecins hygiénistes au Canada"

Online Health Policy Analysis Course

The Continuing Professional Development Committee is happy to offer an Online Health Policy Analysis Course to NSSCM Fellows and Resident members. The course was developed and will be hosted by Michael Rachlis. The course is scheduled to run in 2010. We will post more information as it develops, so stay tuned! 

To review the course introduction as well as the course outline and session descriptions for the course Dr. Rachlis ran for community medicine residents in the Spring of 2009 please click here.

Pandemic H1N1: Fast facts for front-line clinicians/ H1N1: Aide-mémoire à l’intention des cliniciens de première ligne

H1N1 Updates from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)

For regular updates in information and response/management strategies related to the H1N1 pandemic, visit fluwatch (English), et en Francais, cliquer ici.

To view the most up to date PHAC communication products click on the links below:

English - http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/index-eng.php
French - http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/index-fra.php

Louis Hugo Francescutti, NSSCM member and CM specialist to become 41st president of the Royal College

Text below from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada communication's bulletin - October 1, 2009.

Royal College - Alberta emergency physician chosen as Royal College President-Elect

Louis Hugo Francescutti, MD, PhD, MPH, FRCPC, will become the 41st president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada next fall. The University of Alberta professor, emergency room/preventative medicine physician and crusader for public safety was elected at a Council meeting held this week in Ottawa.

“I am deeply honoured to have this opportunity,” said Dr. Francescutti after the election. “As President-Elect, I want to help lead the Royal College into the future with firm conviction, resolve and enthusiasm.”

As President, Dr. Francescutti hopes to continue improving membership engagement and helping the Royal College play a leading role in reducing injuries — the leading cause of death and disability for Canadians under the age of 45.

Dr. Francescutti has experienced health care settings countrywide, working as an emergency medical technician in the Canadian Arctic, a blood bank technologist at the Montreal General Hospital, and a researcher, clinician and educator in Edmonton, Alta. He holds degrees from Concordia University, the University of Alberta and John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

A renowned educator and physician, Dr. Francescutti has won numerous teaching and service awards during his career. In 2005, he was named one of Alberta’s 100 most influential physicians of the past century by the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

“Dr. Francescutti is an inspired, passionate and tireless physician and educator,” said Royal College President G. William N. Fitzgerald, CM, MD, FRCSC. “He is an excellent choice to help lead the Royal College in addressing the challenges currently facing Canadian medicine.”

Dr. Francescutti is also the founder of the Coalition for Cellphone-Free Driving, former director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research and founder of HEROES, a multimedia head and spinal cord injury prevention project for teenagers. He has lectured internationally and helped develop several award-winning injury control programs.

His two-year presidency officially begins in fall 2010.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

774 Echo Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5N8
Tel: 1-800-668-3740
royalcollege.ca

Online CME Course

Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Tools and strategies for front-line clinicians

• Best practices in preparedness, early detection and response to notifiable and emerging infectious diseases
• Designed primarily for front-line clinicians, including family doctors, emergency physicians, paediatricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and outpost nurses
• Evidence-based with links to provincial/territorial resources

Developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Public Health Association and Professional Development & Conferencing Services, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University.

Register now at www.publichealth.gc.ca/outbreaks-course and www.santepublique.gc.ca/cours-eclosions

Canada's Doctors Debate the Merits of Competition in Health Care

The Canadian Medical Association's 2009 annual meeting saw a majority of physician's agreeing to implore governments and health authorities to examine the role of competition in health care.

Articles related to this issue include the following:

"Full speed ahead for CMA's transformation train" (CMAJ)

"Canada's doctors debate role private sector could play in public health care" (The Canadian Press)

"Introduce competition to boost health care, MDs say" (The Globe and Mail)

CMA's Call for Flu Czar

A CMA write-up calls for national leadership to facilitate the planning and implementation of a pandemic response across provincial and territorial boundaries.

To read the CMAJ editorial, "Preparing for pandemic (H1N1) 2009", please click here.

Related articles include the following:

"Flu czar needed to battle pandemic: CMA journal" (The Globe and Mail)

"Canada needs health czar to fight flu" (The Chronicle Herald)

NSSCM POSITION STATEMENT ON SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITES

At the June 7th 2009 Annual General Meeting, a Position Statement on Supervised Consumptions Sites was presented to the membership and was accepted without dissent. A review of the evidence and a survey of the membership supported the development of the statement, which makes explicit that supervised drug consumption sites are a component of comprehensive public health services for individuals with substance abuse disorders and supports the continued operation of the Vancouver InSite facility.

View the Position Statement on Supervised Consumption Sites (PDF).

Toronto and Ottawa Supervised Consumption Assessment

A study, that began over a year ago, is hoping to assess whether there is a need in Toronto and Ottawa for supervised drug injection sites. 

The Toronto Star article on this subject is available here.

This assesment was requested by the city as a result of The Toronto Drug Strategy - December 2005 recommendation, available for reference on pages 57-60 of the report.

Report of the Independent Listeriosis Investigative Review

Read the report of the Independent Listeriosis Investigative Review, released July 20 2009 here

Read Andre Picard's July 22nd article on the report: Poor Leadership is the Real Listeria Culprit here

Investigation of the First Cases of Human-to-Human Infection with the New Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Canada

An early release of a CMAJ article (under revision) that discusses the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of the first cluster of reported cases of human-to-human transmisison of the new influenza virus in Canada.  Gaynor Watson-Creed is one of the co-authors.

Read the article here

Interim Guidance for the Management of pandemic H1N1 2009 outbreaks in closed facilities

On July 16 the Public Health Agency of Canada released new Pandemic H1N1 Management Guidelines for Closed Facilities.

View the guidelines  in English here et en  francais ici

Conference Board of Canada Releases a New Report - Ready or Not: Effective Pandemic Response

The Conference Board of Canada has released a new report on pandemic planning for the Canadian business sector.  Review the report Ready or Not: Effective Pandemic Response here

Report on Conference - One World, One Health: from ideas to action

In March 2009 the Public Health Agency of Canada hosted an international consultation which resulted in the recently released report One World, One Health: from ideas to action.   The report presents an international, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to surveillance, monitoring, prevention, control and mitigating of emerging diseases and environmental conservation.

Access the report here