No, I'm not dead...yet...

I haven't really fell off of the face of the earth. I just sort of fell in to my life and became enveloped by it. My job, working in regional health care is interesting and engaging. I always have opportuinities to learn new things but there is far too much work and not nearly enough resources to do it all.

I think that we need to focus on a few things and do them well rather than try to do everything. By taking on too many projects at once our attention is too scattered and we don't truly complete anything before picking up a new shiny object to focus our attention on.

Granted, fixing our health care system, even in one region of our province is a tall order. God, I love the challenge. But I think that if we had a few real acknowledged wins in our pocket then the next project might be just a bit easier. We are constantly fighting public perception and the reluctance of the health service providers to do anything differently.

They come to us with hands extended looking for more money, like that will fix all of their problems. And yet, when you suggest that since they can't balance their budget maybe they need to change how they are currently providing services they are indignant. How dare we tell them how to do their job, they are the experts after all.

Frankly, if any one of us overspent to the point of being in debt and needed a loan or a hand out to bail us out then logically you would look at how you got into that position in the first place and put measures in place to ensure you didn't end up in the same boat in the future. In other words...make changes! See where your money is going. What spending can you cut back on? What expenses can you eliminate all together? It's logical. Our health care system, currently, is anything but logical.

In the past if health service providers overspent their budgets they were simply given more money. It created a system where overspending was common place and organizations that were fiscally responsible were in a way penalized. You can't reward bad behaviour and then wonder why they can't act responsibly. And that obvious bit of wisdom could have been provided by any mother in the country. Now all we need to do is teach this lesson to the ones providing our health care services.

Time will tell...and I plan to stay around to see it through. Hang on to your hats boys and girls...it may be a bumpy ride.