A Physician in the Political Arena
Today I am pleased to be launching my book A Physician in the Political Arena: Ethics, Duty and the Pandemic.
As explained in my last column, the book will be posted online one chapter at a time starting today into April. Below you can read an excerpt from the Prologue. At the bottom of this column you will find a link to the full text of this initial segment, which can be found online at MerrileeFullerton.com.
Chapters one, two and three will be made available to read online this week on Tuesday March 19, Thursday March 21 and Saturday March 23, respectively. A downloadable file of the full text of the book will be posted on my website once all chapters have been made available – the first week of April.
Enjoy the read. – Merrilee
An excerpt from the Prologue
Over the years as a family doctor I have made it a point to contribute to the important discussions around improving care – by speaking, sharing, and commentating on health care issues, on the quality of elder care, and on improving our Canadian health care system. Guided by a few core personal beliefs and my professional code of ethics, I have always strived to contribute to health care discussions in a constructive, results-oriented manner.
Raising greater awareness of the issues that challenge our health care system and the ability to care for elders is the starting point of necessary health care reforms. This book is an explanation of what happened at a critical period for elder care in Ontario – a sad time that we must take lessons from to ensure we are better prepared to prevent and manage future crises.
I am deeply saddened with what happened through the pandemic years in long-term care homes in Canada.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal moment for elder care in Ontario, in Canada. It exposed how big the cracks are in our long-term care system. It also exposed how inadequate a political response is to a health care crisis, with the WHO and public health agencies not “following the science.” The WHO and public health failed to apply the precautionary principle.
What this meant for elders in long-term care was that two critical issues were mistaken: asymptomatic and aerosol spread in long-term care residences. How slow the wheels of government turned in recognizing these significant issues! I remain frustrated at the thought that I was in government and my medical insights were not given credence when it came to the medical science of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, particularly responding to the possible airborne nature of the virus.
So, this book provides an account of what occurred in Ontario’s long term-care sector, from the time the provincial government announced a new ministry through the pandemic years to the current status of the sector. The book shares my professional concerns about care for elders and my understanding of the issues impacting our Canadian health care system. It provides observations on a way forward to improve elder care and our health care system.
With the general public’s attention now elsewhere, it is important to not lose sight of the valuable lessons learned so far from the pandemic and how we can better protect the most vulnerable in our society.