Canada’s Food Safety System Fails International Comparisons, Expert Argues ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2010) — Canada’s food safety system is reactive, lags behind other countries, and investment is needed to ensure it can adequately protect Canadians, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Foodborne illness surveillance is needed to ensure safety from gastrointestinal infections caused by bacteria such as toxigenic E.coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria. As there is no national foodborne illness surveillance program in Canada, the estimated 11 million cases of foodborne illness every year are based on surveys of self-reported gastrointestinal illness. More accurate data are needed to execute meaningful intervention.
European Union countries, the US and Australia have surveillance systems that allow them to collect information on food vehicles and organisms that cause foodborne illness, something Canada cannot currently do. Canada’s multi-government system with national, provincial and local governments that share responsibility for health, as well as monitor the safety and quality of food are key reasons that we have a fragmented system with poor focus. The US suffers from the same problem, yet does a better (though not perfect) job.
“Multijurisdictional fragmentation of both food inspection and foodborne illness surveillance are obstacles to safe food that can be overcome with determination and commitment,” writes Dr. Richard A Holley from the Department of Food Science at the University of Manitoba.
While Canada does have a single national food inspection authority, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, it shares responsibility for food inspection with provincial and municipal governments.
“The large size of the country, regional differences in population density and availability of infrastructure complicate attempts to implement and administer both foodborne illness surveillance and uniform food inspection programs,” writes the author.
Government must invest to develop a proactively cooperative foodborne illness surveillance system and use the data to establish insightful, uniform, risk- and science-based food safety policy across the country. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100125123225.htm http://www.cmaj.ca/
Government gets failing grade on food safety from union, consumers’ group The Canadian Press OTTAWA – The government hasn’t improved the food-safety system six months after the fatal listeriosis outbreak, food inspectors and a consumers group said Wednesday. Option Consommateurs, the country’s largest consumer organization, and the union representing the inspectors said the government has yet to determine how many people it needs to ensure safe food and to figure out if a new inspection system actually works. They said the government has yet to act on the key recommendations produced by a special investigation into the tainted-meat crisis – a charged denied by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Ritz said the government has given more resources to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and “put more inspectors on the ground than ever before” since the listeriosis crisis. The outbreak, traced to contaminated cold cuts from a Maple Leaf Foods plant, killed 22 people and sickened many more. Sheila Weatherill, who was appointed to investigate the tragedy, called for a tough evaluation of the system. That hasn’t happened, the union says. “Six months after Sheila Weatherill’s report, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency efforts to improve have been hamstrung by the absence of political will and commitment to improve on the part of the federal government,” said Bob Kingston, president of the Agriculture Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, representing food inspectors. Anu Bose of Option Consommateurs said the outbreak shook consumer confidence in food safety: “The absence of any visible action six months after the Weatherill report will do nothing to repair this.”
You did note that even though it was requested many times that still to date neither my father nor I never got form the McGill Hospital, Doctors a list of medication he was or is being given presently and what they are afraid I will check the validity of the medication on the internet and they all will be sued next as well?
AS USUAL I OFTEN ALSO DO ENCOUNTER THE CANADIAN OSTRICHES WHO SAY PUT YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND, DON’T WORRY EVERYTHING WILL TURN OUT FINE. DREAM ON.. ALL IT TAKES FOR EVIL PERSONS TO CONTINUE DOING EVIL IS FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE TO DO NOTHING ABOUT IT.
NOW I ALSO WAS CONTEMPLATING ABOUT THE REALITY THAT WE ALL DO NEED SOME MEDICINE SOONER OR LATER AND THE REALITY NOW TOO THAT HOW WE CANNOT REALLY LIVE HEALTHY WITHOUT MEDICINE. BUT IF I WERE YOU I WOULD SERIOUSLY CHECK THE SIDE EFFECT, AS WELL AS THE SUITABILITY OF THE MEDICINE THAT OUR DOCTOR IS PRESCRIBING FOR YOU AND/OR YOUR LOVED ONES. I HAVE LEARNED FIRSTHAND MANY TIMES THAT DOCTORS DO EVEN PRESCRIBE BAD, UNSUITABLE MEDICINE, AND HAVE EVEN MADE MISTAKES IN THE AMOUNT AS WELL..
Children who are more reactive to stress are more likely to thrive when raised in supportive parental environments, according to a new report. Lead author of the report, published in the journal Child Development, Jelena Obradovic has argued that kids’ biological reactions to stressful situations were more affected by family settings. “Parents and teachers may find that sensitive children, like orchids, are more challenging to raise and care for, but they can bloom into individuals of exceptional ability and strength when reared in a supportive, nurturing, and encouraging environment.” Parenting and childcare experts advise that family dynamics and relationships play a crucial role in a child’s early development, laying the foundations for social skills and behaviour in later life. One may not notice it at a young age but the end effect of stress, anxiety clearly often reveal themselves in elderly patients.
ELDERLY PERSONS BREATHING PROBLEMS. The basic function of the lungs is to take oxygen out of the air we breathe in exchange for the carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood. This exchange takes place across a very thin membrane that separates the blood in the lungs from the air we inhale. As we age, the lungs become stiffer and less elastic, the airways shrink, and the chest muscles weaken. These and other changes cause the total flow of air into and out of the lungs to decrease. Difficult or labored breathing refers to shortness of breath after only a small amount of activity. Depending on the underlying problem, this can range from being out of breath after mild exercise to being unable to get out of a chair without gasping for air. Breathing problems that involve difficulty in exhaling or breathing air out of the lungs are referred to as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Distinguishing between specific conditions that cause COPD can be difficult in older adults. People with COPD usually become short of breath on exertion and cough frequently, bringing up phlegm. These symptoms develop gradually over time, so that breathing problems may not be noticed until another illness (eg, flu) adds to the burden on the respiratory system. Drug treatment can make breathing easier and can reduce wheezing, cough, and phlegm. The main drugs used to treat COPD include the class of drugs known as beta-agonists and another drug called ipratropium bromide. Beta-agonists and ipratropium are often used in combination and are inhaled to help expand the airways. Pulmonary rehabilitation in the form of exercise training, respiratory therapy, and education may also help people with COPD. Exercise has many health benefits, including reducing depression and anxiety. Clinical depression and anxiety are common problems for people with COPD. Anxiety attacks often result in hospitalization that can be possibly avoided with proper treatment and education. Symptoms usually begin gradually, but always progress. Patients can feel an unpleasant shortness of breath, increased tiredness in the chest muscles, a panicky feeling of being smothered, or tightness and cramping in the chest wall. Experiencing a REALTED panic attack has been said to be one of the most intensely frightening, upsetting and uncomfortable experiences of a person’s life. When panic attacks occur, you might think you’re losing control, having a heart attack or even dying. A panic attack is a response of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The most common symptoms may include trembling, dyspnea (shortness of breath), heart palpitations, chest pain (or chest tightness), hot flashes, cold flashes, burning sensations (particularly in the facial or neck area), sweating, nausea, dizziness (or slight vertigo), light-headedness, hyperventilation, paresthesias (tingling sensations), sensations of choking or smothering, and derealization. Panic attacks are distinguished from other forms of anxiety by their intensity and their sudden, episodic nature They are often experienced in conjunction with anxiety disorders and panic attacks are not always indicative of a mental disorder. Panic attacks were once dismissed as nerves or stress, but they’re now recognized as a real medical condition. Although panic attacks can significantly affect your quality of life, treatment — including medications, psychotherapy and relaxation techniques to help prevent or control panic attacks — is very effective. the symptoms of a panic attack appear suddenly, without any apparent cause. They may include
•racing or pounding heartbeat (palpitations);
•chest pains;
•stomach upset;
•dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea;
•difficulty breathing, a sense of feeling smothered;
•tingling or numbness in the hands;
•hot flashes or chills;
•dreamlike sensations or perceptual distortions;
•terror: a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to occur and one is powerless to prevent it;
•a need to escape;
•fear of losing control and doing something embarrassing; and
•fear of dying.
A panic attack typically lasts for several minutes, is one of the most distressing conditions that a person can experience, and its symptoms can closely mimic those of a heart attack.
Elderely persons need more special care cause they do tend to lack the basic vitamins found in our common foods that help also to reduce one’s personal stress and anxiety.. for a hungry persons tends to be continually stressed and anxious and also do often manifest depression as well.. and what the classic treatment for depression is time, healing, by giving them proper nourishment, and proper rest and sleep.. in this case supplemented by proper pain killers, not improper pain killers and/or merely given proper sleeping pills too. It seems that appropriate medication given by a face mask if done immediately can alleviate further his panic and related breathing difficulties.. not just sleeping pills, or good food..
Now if you were real , caring decent ministers in the federal government, then you and your provincial counterparts would supplement additional revenue to feed the elderly patients, who are being starved even murdered undeniably in old age homes, convalescent homes, hospitals in Canada, not just in 3rd world countries..
HOSPITALS are filled with infection-causing bacteria that cannot be found anywhere else. Hospitals, which often house very large numbers of sick people, are the ideal breeding environment for the sometimes deadly bugs. Hospital patients generally have a lower level of immunity and offer little or no resistance to them. The hospital staff, due to constant exposure to the bugs, are fairly immune to them, but may pass them on to patients by touching them or their food, bedding, clothing, or medications. * Contrary to common belief, hospitals are among the most contaminated places in the world. In fact it does not take much dirt to become a breeding place for billions of deadly infectious bacteria.
* Doctors can be the worst transmitters of disease in hospitals. Most doctors do not wash their hands except before an operation, when they wear sterilized gloves and gowns anyway. They may sometimes touch many dozens of patients within several hours, one after the other, without washing their hands even once. Even the doctor’s white gown is not as clean as it looks. It is only clean if it is washed every single day, which rarely happens. .
* Bed sheets may be clean, but mattresses and pillows are not. The chance of being infected by bugs living in them is 1 in 20.
* A hospital patient may receive up to 12 different kinds of medication, all of which produce side effects, SOME that can lead to serious complications and even death. AND SOME MEDICATIONS GIVEN ARE GIVEN IN ERROR AS WELL
* NOT SURPRISING TO MANY PERSONS hospitals PATIENTS OFTEN are suffering from malnutrition due to a poor hospital diet OR BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. Malnutrition, even starvation was found to be the major cause of death among older people in hospitals.
Add the toxic side effects of the drugs, the presence of deadly bugs, as well as the stress and anxiety that accompany an illness and a stay in a hospital, and a poorly nourished elderly person NOW EVEN has very little chance of surviving
Anxiety stress relief vitamins and minerals work in different ways by providing nutrients which control the metabolism rate and the hormone levels within our bodies. By keeping these two things stable we can provide a better mechanism to cope with stress and anxiety inducing situations. Most of the recommended anxiety stress relief vitamins and minerals can be found in the foods that we eat and can simply be attained by eating a healthy and balanced diet covering all the major food groups. And that is why eating proper foods is important.
Since I visit my father 3 times a week at the LGH 4TH FLOOR I too now have noticed that it is the Nurses and Doctors on his floor that tend to be the lazy, careless, indifferent ones, but the general support staff are not.. for they do go the extra effort.
The Pointe Claire Lakeshore General Hospital 4th floor North has severely sick patients, who now are seriously sick 24 hours per day.. and yet this same floor undeniably is not staffed with fully competent mature nurses even 24 hours day , seven days a week and now why is that?
MY FATHER HAS NOW HAD 3 OTHER PATIENTS IN HIS ROOM AND SO FAR 2 OF THEM HAVE DIED ONE WEEK ALONE IN THE SAME HOSPITAL ROOM DUE TO UNNATURAL DEATHS, FOR THE DOCTOR HAD OPENLY DECIDED TO LET THEM DIE. THE DOCTOR HAD PRIOR TOLD ME AND THE OTHERS HE WOULD LET NATURE TAKE IT’S COURSE.
ONE GREEK PATIENT HAD RECEIVED 2 HEART STOKES IN THE HOSPITAL AFTER BEING ADMITTED EVEN, IMAGINE THAT HEART STROKES, BECAUSE NO ONE HAD BOTHER TO GIVE HIM ANY BLOOD THINNERS.. SO HE FINALLY GOT A FATAL STOKE AND DIED. THE UPSET PATIENTS DAUGHTER NOW BLAMED THE INEFFECTIVE NURSES FOR HIS BAD CARE AND HIS DEATH. NURSES FIRSTLY TAKE ORDERS FROM DOCTORS AND CANNOT PRESCRIBE MEDICINE ON THEIR OWN..
NEXT A FRENCH CANADIAN PATIENT , HIS SON ALSO HAD CAME TO THE HOSPITAL TO VISIT HIM, AND THE SON IMMEDIATELY WENT TO LOOK FOR HIS FATHER’S CLOTHES THAT HAS BEEN MISPLACED. THE FATHER SAID TO HIS SON WHEN CAN I GO HOME AND THE SON SAID YOU ARE NOT COMING HOME I AM PLACING YOU IN AN OLD AGE HOME. THE NEXT DEPRESSED FATHER STOPPED EATING HIS FOODS. THE NURSES WHO BROUGHT THE FOOD TO HIM SAID IF HE WS NOT GOING TO EAT THE FOOD THEY WERE NOT GOING TO FEED HIM CAUSE THEY WERE TOO BUSY TO DO SO, AND THEY DID NOT FEED HIM THEY JUST TOOK AWAY THE TRAYS OF UNEATEN FOOD . FIVE DAYS LATER THE PATIENT NOW STARVED TO DEATH DIED EVEN WHILE I WAS THERE TODAY. THE SON WAS TOLD HIS FATHER DIED, HE CAME MERELY LOOKED AT HIS FATHER AND IMMEDIATELY WENT AND TOOK HIS CLOTHES AND LEFT. WHY BOTHER ABOUT THE CLOTHES EVEN?
I also do know that there are even two ways at looking at reality, the wrong way, and the right way.. and the wrong way is too often still clouded by deceit, fraud, falsehoods, lies, selfishness, false denials too.. which often catch up with the person conveying them still too.. Doctors and nurses also still do lie in the performances of their duties and severely, seriously compromise the health of patients. One thing is generally obvious and is a reasons that patients often do suffer, and that is too save money, professionals , like doctors and nurses are unsupervised, they are unacceptably trusted too much, left on their own to carry out their duties.
For example: A new patient admitted to the convalescent hospital was suffering from respiratory pain.. When the senior nurse on duty was asked about his medication she said to the patient that the pharmaceutical department had not delivered the list of the medication prescriptions yet including a specific medication to ease the patient’s breathing.. It in reality it next turns out a special breathing apparatus was needed by the convalescent home to administer the medication, by means of a face mask, and which the convalescent home had only one, and it was now defective, the simple electric on-off switch was not working on it, it was defective and it had yet still not been repaired yet, thus the senior nurse she knew that, and so instead of admitting the truth to all she lied and had said that she DID NOT HAVE THE RELATED APPROPRIATE MEDICATION list. Her supervsiors needs to be fired ASAP..
Doctors, Nurses, medical support staff are human, they too sometimes try sometimes to get by with a minimal amount of personal effort, and so as result patients do not always get their proper medical care. A very good rule is never to go to a hospital alone, doctors are afraid of loud mouthed witnesses who can cause them to be sued for mal practice and cause their mal practice insurance rates to go up significantly.. so sick people with close family members who talk to the doctor tend to get better care.
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