www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 21, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution Sarah McSweeney Circ. Manager It's unacceptable It should never have come to this. Where was the Ministry of Health? Or, more correctly, where was the Minister of Health Deb Matthews? Oakville's Ian Anderson House (IAH) hospice was unable to accept a dying man because it had run out of the necessary medication to assist in end-of-life care. To deny a man access to hospice care because of a drug shortage is appalling and totally unacceptable. The patient required an anti-convulsion medication called phenobarbital that helps to prevent seizures. The hospice, and the pharmacy it relies on, were unable to procure the injectable version of the drug due to a nationwide shortage. We can't imagine how the family of that man must have felt knowing they couldn't get their loved one into the facility he so needed. We also can't imagine how the individual must have felt knowing he would probably spend his last days in a hospital instead of a comfortable, home-like setting offered by a hospice. Ian Anderson House says it was notified of the drug shortage on March 5. However, Sandoz Canada Inc., the company that produces generic versions of the injectable medications used in surgical and hospital care, slowed production at its Québec facility following a warning from the U.S. Federal Drug Administration over quality concerns in November 2011. That was last year, folks. Why wasn't the warning sounded then? Where was the Minister of Health? The health ministry said it is now rolling out an inventory assessment process to get a handle on the drug shortage and how it is affecting patient care across the province. Starting this week, community health-care workers are to be issued a reporting template that can be used to notify the ministry of a shortage of drugs that would negatively impact patient care. Why wasn't this template created months ago? Why did it take patients to suffer before the province acted? This is an embarrassment and, perhaps, too late for some patients. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editor Price to park is too high at hospital Re: Parking woes near hospital, Oakville Beaver, Friday, March 9, 2012. I really do not know when all this poor decision-making is going to end. The story in your paper infuriates me. We have all been preached to from all levels of government and organizations about the need to be informed and educated about our decisions. Parking on the streets close to a hospital is practically a given reality, just as living next to an airport means aircraft will pass overhead; living next to a highway means higher noise levels, etc. The hospital is an essential institution for many people, many of whom are elderly. I'm sure they do not look forward to a hike of a half kilometre or more in adverse conditions. Our politicians have informed us we have an aging population and most will be on fixed or subsistence incomes. The hospital now becomes an institution that they are sent to more frequently for various tests and procedures. The cost to go to the hospital is becoming a substantial drain on their limited incomes. I cannot comprehend why our elected officials cannot see the problem. One resident even took the time to patrol the hospital parking and observed 50 plus vacant spaces. Hello, the problem is the excessive rates charged to park at the hospital. A hospital, which was paid for by that very same taxpayer who now has need of it, and is being taken advantage of with no alternative other than to park on the street. Parking rates should be the same as any other municipal areas, then the parking problem would in all likelihood disappear, or be reduced substantially. Come on council, let's get with it and make a decision that makes sense, and you should not need a consultant for this one. Bruce Head, Oakville Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Help on hubcap appreciated I would very much like to thank the two people who followed my car recently for several blocks to let me know I had just lost a hubcap. I had just turned from Navy Street and was westbound on Lakeshore Road. Both people went out of their way to let me know, especially the very kind women who followed me up Kerr Street to my destination to make me aware about the hubcap and where it was. In this day and age where people are so rushed and one tends to lose faith in humanity, it is small acts like this that restore your faith. Thank you again to both individuals. What a great town we all live in. Sandra Blane, Oakville Reader believes property tax hike is a crime I recently relocated to Oakville from another province because I was told that this is a peaceful and crimeless town. Well, I did not realize there is a different type of crime here. To raise property taxes to the tune of 12.5 per cent in two years, I believe, is a crime and the beauty of it is, it is not punishable. Peaceful town? Maybe physically peaceful, but this raise is going to torture me mentally. How do I find the means to pay these taxes? Michael Hawkins' letter in The Oakville Beaver certainly got us started to think and act. Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. P. Dhir, Oakville