The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science Supports Health Action Lobby's Call to Action on Health Care - The Canadian Way

OTTAWA, Sept. 22, 2015 /CNW/ - The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) joins other members of Canada's Health Action Lobby (HEAL) to remind federal leaders that Canadians want government to make the challenges facing our health care system a priority. Public opinion research consistently reveals that Canadians care deeply about finding sustainable and cost-effective options that will enhance our national health. And healthy Canadians make for a healthy and competitive economy. Yet, to date, policy debates associated with the 2015 federal election have rarely focused on health care.

Through its Consensus Statement entitled The Canadian Way - Accelerating Innovation and Improving Health System Performance, HEAL has issued a call to action, contending that an effective health system depends on enhanced collaboration among all levels of government. HEAL also expects the federal government to re-assert its legitimate and facilitative leadership role.

"HEAL speaks on behalf of the health organizations and professionals who understand what it will take to keep the focus on the patient, improve health outcomes and get better value from our health-care spending," says, HEAL Co-Chair, Dr. Karen Cohen. "Canadians want clarity about the vision each of the federal parties has for our national health care system, before they go to the polls."

For its part, the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) has developed a proposal for addressing the critical shortage of medical laboratory technologists that Canada is facing. 

The current supply of domestically educated laboratory students is not sufficient to address the impending shortage. All lab students have a clinical placement (internship) as part of their educational program.  Programs cannot increase spots without corresponding clinical placements, making this a bottleneck in the system.  These spots are scarce due to staffing shortages, crushing workloads and lack of dedicated education personnel.

What is needed is:

• Targeted funding for dedicated clinical educators to support onsite clinical education
• Targeted funding for research into the value and effectiveness of clinical simulation to reduce the amount of clinical education each student requires

"The challenges around securing enough quality clinical placements is the biggest limiting factor for increasing the supply of new health professionals in the laboratory and many other health care professions," says CSMLS President, Tania Toffner. "CSMLS joins the call to action on health care and encourages all political parties to work together on achieving a national solution.  This vital step would go a long way to ensuring the sustainability of our health care system."

HEAL is a coalition of 39 national health and consumer associations and organizations dedicated to protecting and strengthening Canada's health system. Created in 1991, and representing more than 650,000 health-care providers and Canada's largest health organizations, the major focus of HEAL's activities has been on the federal role in health and health care. The Canadian Way Consensus Statement calls for health sector reform and funding initiatives grounded in compassion, consensus, and collaboration.

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science is the national certifying body for medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory assistants, and the national professional society for Canada's medical laboratory professionals. Incorporated in 1937 as the Canadian Society of Laboratory Technologists, the society has over 14,000 members in Canada and in countries around the world.

SOURCE Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science

Media Contacts: For the Health Action Lobby : Lisa Robertson: 613-739-7032, [email protected]; Susan Wright: 519-703-2020, [email protected], www.healthactionlobby.ca, @CanadaHEAL, Read The Canadian Way at http://tinyurl.com/q3c7gyl; For the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science, Michael Grant: 905-667-8687, [email protected]