News a glance
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《加拿大医疗协会学报》
Closed book: Health Canada plans to halve its budget at 6 Ottawa health science libraries and reduce staff from 26 to 10 over the next 3 years. At the same time the department will create an electronic library in collaboration with the National Research Council at a cost of $41.8 million over 5 years. The move is part of a federal effort to trim $269 million from the department's budget. The Canadian Health Library Association says federal scientists can't do their jobs without timely access to scientific publications. "It's a big loss for scientists and researchers," says CHLA President Tamsin Addams-Webber. Without library access, many individuals and departments may have to purchase resources directly. The cuts "could be a false economy," says Addams-Webber.
The Lottery: A Quebec coroner wants lottery ticket vendors to be trained to help combat compulsive gambling. The recommendations stem from an investigation into the Aug. 21, 2005, suicide of 62-year-old André Baril. The Carignan man killed himself after spending his life savings of $50 000 primarily on a lottery game called Banco. Like vendors of alcohol, people who sell lottery tickets "are responsible for the welfare of their customers," wrote coroner Jean-Fran?ois Dorval. He says lotto retailers should be licensed and trained to recognize gambling addicts and refuse to sell scratch-and-win and online tickets to customers they think should not buy them. Loto-Quebec said this would be difficult, given that there are 10 000 vendors across the province, many with more than one person selling tickets. Loto-Quebec already has a hotline for compulsive gamblers (866 767-5389).
Milk banks: The coordinator of Canada's only breast milk bank is calling for other regions to establish similar banks. "With the increased research on the benefits of human milk, there's greater demand," says Frances Jones at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver. Its bank supplied 63 recipients in 2000 and 255 recipients in 2004. She believes more people would take advantage of the service if they were aware of it. About 100–120 donors supply the bank with milk, which is screened for infections, pasteurized and shipped to infants who need it, based on medical priority. Groups in Ontario, Montreal and Saskatchewan are considering setting up similar banks. Without milk banks, women often go to friends or even buy breast milk from strangers they contact over the Internet, says Jones. "The recipients often, especially if it's over the Internet, have no knowledge of the donor's health or history and they don't actually know for sure if they are getting human milk," she says. — Laura Eggertson, CMAJ
Reddoch case: The Yukon Medical Council has apologized to CMA past president Dr. Allon Reddoch for the loss of files that were stolen while in the Council's keeping. The files pertained to Reddoch's appeal of a YMC finding of "unprofessional conduct" after the death of a teenage girl under his care in 1995. In a letter dated Dec. 7, 2005, YMC chair Dr. Bruce Beaton apologized for the loss the files in March 2000 and acknowledged the "personal and professional distress" this caused Reddoch. The Yukon Court of Appeal eventually dismissed the charge of unprofessional conduct in late 2001. Reddoch says he's "pleased" with the apology. — Compiled by Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ
The Lottery: A Quebec coroner wants lottery ticket vendors to be trained to help combat compulsive gambling. The recommendations stem from an investigation into the Aug. 21, 2005, suicide of 62-year-old André Baril. The Carignan man killed himself after spending his life savings of $50 000 primarily on a lottery game called Banco. Like vendors of alcohol, people who sell lottery tickets "are responsible for the welfare of their customers," wrote coroner Jean-Fran?ois Dorval. He says lotto retailers should be licensed and trained to recognize gambling addicts and refuse to sell scratch-and-win and online tickets to customers they think should not buy them. Loto-Quebec said this would be difficult, given that there are 10 000 vendors across the province, many with more than one person selling tickets. Loto-Quebec already has a hotline for compulsive gamblers (866 767-5389).
Milk banks: The coordinator of Canada's only breast milk bank is calling for other regions to establish similar banks. "With the increased research on the benefits of human milk, there's greater demand," says Frances Jones at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver. Its bank supplied 63 recipients in 2000 and 255 recipients in 2004. She believes more people would take advantage of the service if they were aware of it. About 100–120 donors supply the bank with milk, which is screened for infections, pasteurized and shipped to infants who need it, based on medical priority. Groups in Ontario, Montreal and Saskatchewan are considering setting up similar banks. Without milk banks, women often go to friends or even buy breast milk from strangers they contact over the Internet, says Jones. "The recipients often, especially if it's over the Internet, have no knowledge of the donor's health or history and they don't actually know for sure if they are getting human milk," she says. — Laura Eggertson, CMAJ
Reddoch case: The Yukon Medical Council has apologized to CMA past president Dr. Allon Reddoch for the loss of files that were stolen while in the Council's keeping. The files pertained to Reddoch's appeal of a YMC finding of "unprofessional conduct" after the death of a teenage girl under his care in 1995. In a letter dated Dec. 7, 2005, YMC chair Dr. Bruce Beaton apologized for the loss the files in March 2000 and acknowledged the "personal and professional distress" this caused Reddoch. The Yukon Court of Appeal eventually dismissed the charge of unprofessional conduct in late 2001. Reddoch says he's "pleased" with the apology. — Compiled by Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ