Village Squire, 1975-01, Page 14.ak-
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TOTALLY DESTRUCTIVE
That's how one
Medical Officer
sees the proposals
of the
Mustard Report
1
One of the greatest changes in Western
Ontario has seen since the coming of the
automobile could come about if the proposals
of the Health Planning Task Force [more
commonly known as the Mustard report] are
implemented by the Provincial Government.
Opposition is growing in many quarters,
particularly in smaller centres such as those
in Western Ontario.
Huron and Perth counties would be part of
a huge, five county are with a population of
550,000 people. Dr. G. F. Mills, Medical
Officer of Health for Huron County recently
released a summary of the Mustard report
and it's effects on the area. Though it was
written specifically for Huron county
residents, much of it also applies in Perth and
Bruce. We felt this information should be
more available to everyone.
BY DR. G.F. MILLS
The Mustard Report is a report of the
Health Planning Task Force, a group headed
by Dr. J .F. Mustard. This group was
appointed in late 1972 to do a comprehensive
study of the health care delivery system in
Ontario particularly in regard to the
reorganization plan of the Ministry of Health
that had been presented early in 1970.
The Mustard Report is totally destructive of
the health care delivery system as it presently
exists in Ontario. It is modeled on the
National Health Service of Great Britain, and
it is far more restrictive to patient and
physician than the National Health Service of
Great Britain.
The Mustard Report hinges on the
establishment of three distinct segments of
health care:
•1. Community Health Centres
•2. District Health Councils
•3. Area Health Services Management Board
First is the Community Health Centre
which is a facility built on a population basis
of one for every 15,000 people, i.e., in Huron
County with a population of 52,000, there
would be three Community Health Centres
located in geographically central positions.
All medical care will be given through the
Community Health Centres.
Community Health Centres will house all of
the health professionals in the area, that is,
physicians, nurses, social workers, family
counsellors, public health nurses, dentists,
etc. At a Community Health Centre, a sick
person will first have to deal with an
intermediary person who will decide whether
they need to see a doctor, a nurse, or any of
the people listed above. (This barrier to
physician -patient relation has never been
found in Canada before and is unacceptable
to the general public most of whom feel that
once they have made up their mind to visit a,
physician, they would be annoyed to be
channeled to another health professional
without choice.)
Community Health Centres must be built
by local funding according to information
from the Ministry of Health over the'past two
years. The formation of Community Health
Centres involves the development of a public
transportation system for the Health Centre
which again must be developed and funded
locally, but as • indicated in the Mustard
Report, free transportation must be provided
to the Community Health Centres.
The second main segment is the formation
of the District Health Council. (In 1972 the
original re -organization plan of the Ministry
of Health indicated that a District Health
Council would be required and that it would
be composed of representatives from the
health professions; a physician, a nurse, a
hospital representative, a dental represent-
ative, each one of the health professions, and
an equal number of interested consumers.
These together would make up a District
Health Council with the intent of co-ordinat-
ing and integrating health services within the
area they serve.) However, the Mustard
Report has revamped the Health Council, has
removed any health professional membership
on it, and simply states that the District
Health Council would be appointed by statute
composed of ten members, who must have no
relation to the health professions and no
health professional background.
The District Health Council which has been
suggested for Huron County would include
Huron, Perth, Oxford, Elgin, Middlesex and
London with a total population of 550,000,
and as can easily be seen, the possibility of a
voice from Huron being heard in such a large
population area is remote.
The District Health Council is a very
important part of the plan. It is advisory to the
Minister and the Ministry. It must meet with
all voluntary agencies and work with all social
and community service agencies. It is
required to form the following committees:
•1. A District Health Services Advisory
Committee
•2. A District Primary Care Committee and a
District Primary Care Advisory Committee
03. A District Secondary Care Committee and
a District Secondary Care Advisory
Committee
•4. A District Committee on Diagnostic
Services
.5. An Area Health Services Advisory
Committee
•6. A Planning Committee
•7. A Facilities Committee
•8. An Education Committee
•9. A Community Relations Committee
One must bear in mind that all of these
committees plus the District Health Council
are purely voluntary, (without pay) must meet
regularly and often involve the members of
the health manpower teams. A committee
structure such as this is almost impossible,
not only because of the difficulty of finding
people to serve voluntarily on these
committees, but also because of the number
of meetings that must be held by these
committees secondary to the District Health
Council.
It has been computed that in Ontario the
committee structure as stated would require
4,800 voluntary workers plus an additional
200 paid positions of secretarial and
administrative to operate these committee
structures. This is not in keeping with any
attempt to reduce health care costs which was
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1975, 13