Dr. Meir Kryger and Dr. Maria Melanson - and the failure of the NDP to understand how to support high quality integrated health care delivery teams

We have received recent news of the coming departure of two excellent physicians. Dr. Meir Kryger and Mr. Maria Melanson. Both are team leaders. Both have been involved in trying to develop approaches to diseases that involve the development of teams which integrate high quality clinical care with prevention, research, teaching and continuous quality improvement.

Dr. Meir Kryger has worked in the area of sleep disorders and is internationally recognized for his achievements. Dr. Maria Melanson has led the team dealing with Multiple Sclerosis in Manitoba. We have one of the highest incidences of this condition in the world. These two physicians have been calling for improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders and multiple sclerosis in Manitoba. Both have been frustrated by the lack of support by the NDP, and are now leaving Manitoba.

Below are comments from Hansard from the last few days:
Friday November 17, 2006 Question Period:

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health and her government totally dropped the ball when it came to supporting Dr. Meir Kryger and his excellent efforts in terms of sleep disorders, in spite of the fact that I raised this many times in this Legislature.

Today, I am raising concerns of a similar nature about multiple sclerosis, a very serious disease. We have one of the highest incidences of multiple sclerosis anywhere in the world. To ensure we have the very best in terms of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, we need to make sure our efforts in multiple sclerosis are well supported in Manitoba.

Can the minister tells us what she is doing with multiple sclerosis and the excellent leadership that we have with Dr. Maria Melanson?

Hon. Theresa Oswald (Minister of Health): “We certainly do agree the work that is being done in Manitoba on a variety of fronts, including multiple sclerosis, Mr. Speaker, is exceptional. Individuals who live with multiple sclerosis and families that have members who have multiple sclerosis are deserving of the absolute best of care. Here in Manitoba they are getting that.”

Monday November 20, 2006

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, I rise with my concerns about multiple sclerosis and the situation which I first raised on Friday. What is clear, I wrote to the minister some time ago with concerns about Dr. Melanson and the future of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Melanson has told me and others have told me that she asked repeatedly for support and was not able to get it from this minister.

I ask the Minister of Health: Why did she repeatedly refuse to support Dr. Melanson's call for better treatment, better facilities and better clinic space for the people who need it for multiple sclerosis diagnosis, prevention and treatment?

Hon. Theresa Oswald (Minister of Health):
“We certainly do support the work that neurologists in Manitoba are doing with their patients. In fact, we have tangible support in that regard in the establishment of the MS clinic in 2001.”

It is sad that Minister Oswald does not even appear to adequately understand the problem. She even pretends that things are gonig well, when they are clearly not. On Wednesday, November 22, I spoke on a Members Statement as follows:

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life and work of Dr. Meir Kryger and Dr. Maria Melanson, and to express my deep sadness at their upcoming departure from Manitoba. There can be no doubt that Dr. Kryger is an internationally renowned authority on sleep disorders. He's been a leader in this field in Manitoba, in Canada and around the world. Indeed, it's been wonderful for Manitoba to have a specialist of his stature practising here in our province. Dr. Maria Melanson, the team leader for the multiple sclerosis effort in Manitoba, has helped many Manitoba patients with multiple sclerosis, about 1,500 Manitobans, as I understand it.

It is sad, indeed tragic for Manitoba that both Dr. Kryger and Dr. Melanson are leaving Manitoba to go to the United States. We wish them both well in their future careers, but, at the same time, they will leave major holes in health care and in the forward-thinking approaches to health care delivery in our province. It did not have to be this way.

The sad and sorry truth is that in seven years the present NDP government has completely and totally failed to establish the framework for health care delivery that will allow and facilitate the building of effective teams co-ordinating care in areas like sleep disorders and multiple sclerosis. The Tories were no better when they were in power in the 1990s. It is one aspect of the Manitoba system which needs to change fundamentally.

Indeed, that's one of the reasons I entered politics, because I realized as a physician that if I wanted to build a long-run, sustainable team that was an internationally recognized and leading team, I would probably have virtually no option but to leave Manitoba. Instead, I chose to enter politics and fight to change the way the system works. I'm still here fighting for change, and I will continue to fight because the system in Manitoba needs to change. Indeed, it's time to remove the present inept government, which can't get the job done, and to elect a Liberal government in Manitoba that can do a proper job of looking after health care in our province.