The Con Regime's Lethally Inadequate Response to the Ebola Epidemic

We are still awaiting our first case of Ebola.

And even though the risk of a major outbreak in Canada is almost negligible, in the emergency rooms of the nation, doctors, and nurses, are already struggling to contain an epidemic of fear.

Not just the irrational fears of their patients, but legitimate fears over their own safety. 

Linda Haslam-Stroud, president of the Ontario Nurse’s Association, said Tuesday that her organization is particularly concerned that nurses are not being offered all the equipment they might need to protect them from contracting the virus, as a Texas nurse did last week.

And as might have been expected, the response of the Harper regime has so far been woefully lacking. 

This week, Canada stepped up Ebola screening efforts at airports to catch any inbound travelers from affected regions of West Africa potentially infected with Ebola.

By trying to make us feel safer.

“Airport screening for Ebola is definitely more about quelling the public’s fears than offering any real boost to public health security,” said Steven Hoffman, a global health law expert and Director of Global Strategy Lab at University of Ottawa in an interview with Yahoo Canada News.


While failing miserably to do what is necessary to tackle the source of the problem.

“Instead of using airport screening to reassure Canadians, I wish the government would focus Canada’s attention and resources on West Africa where the outbreak is out of control and where real action could actually be helpful in protecting Canada’s own health security.”

By failing to send more help to Africa even though the situation there couldn't be more DESPERATE...



As the stories of these heroic nurses make only too tragically clear.

Ebola is mean. It’s harsh and it can tear families apart one by one, or take them all out together. We recently had a teenage girl bleed to death over two days of IV-site oozing. Sounds easy to fix, right? Pressure dressing, elevation, blah blah. Sorry, that’s not how things work in an Ebola unit. You do all the normal interventions but a 20-gauge needle hole in a hand can slowly and fully drain the life source out of someone. Walking into a room that is covered in blood, finding a semi-conscious girl face down on a bed pooling with barely congealed blood is hard. It’s harder the second day when you know all your efforts couldn’t slow that life destruction.

As does this video...



But despite the obvious need for more boots on the ground, in a country like Liberia, where there are only about 120 doctors to take care of a population of four million.

And despite the example of the Americans who are sending 4,000 soldiers, the response of the Harper regime has been totally pathetic.

Thus far, Canada’s help on the ground in West Africa consists of only two mobile health units - only one of which is currently operating in Kailahun, in eastern Sierra Leone since early September. A second unit is currently being readied to join it soon.

In Hoffman’s opinion, these ‘boots-on-the ground’ actions in the face of a growing epidemic is pitifully inadequate compared to efforts of other much smaller and poorer countries. 

And even poor little Cuba is doing more than we are.

 “Cuba announced this week it’s sending 450 doctors and nurses to West Africa - which makes Canada’s response, by comparison, lame,” he added.

But then what do we expect from a Con regime with a record like this one?

“Remember, this is the government that just two years ago cut 500 staff from the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Hoffman. 

 “This is also the government that has advocated budget cuts and freezes at the World Health Organization which prevented that UN agency from being able to offer effective leadership throughout this outbreak.”

And what can we expect from a leader who is making plans to weaken our own medicare system.

And believes that ISIS is a greater threat than Ebola and climate change...



And the answer is nothing, nothing at all. 

All we can do is support the heroic frontline health workers in Africa. 

Like my precious friends at Doctors Without Borders.

And of course make Canada safer and more decent.

By removing that monstrous leader from office, as soon as is humanly possible...

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