Eight in Ten (82%) Say That A Health Charter Would Be A Good Idea

Ottawa, ONTARIO - According to a poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, eight in ten (82%) Canadians believe that a Canadian Health Charter is a very good or good idea. The Charter would spell out the rights and responsibilities of patients, health professionals and governments with respect to the health care system.

Regarding the type of Charter that should be developed, two thirds (64%) feel that Canada needs "a Canadian Health Charter that explains both the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved in the health system including patients, health professionals and governments." Only one-third (34%) say that Canada needs "a Patient Bill of Rights that explains to patients which services they are entitled to and how these services will be delivered."

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association between May 21st and May 30th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 2,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Eight in ten (82%) Canadians believe that a Canadian Health Charter is a very good (20%) or good idea (62%). The Charter would spell out the rights and responsibilities of patients, health professionals and governments with respect to the health care system.

• Regionally, residents of Atlantic Canada (88%) are more likely than those in other regions to indicate that a Charter would be a very good or good idea, followed by those in Quebec (84%), Ontario (82%), British Columbia (82%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (80%) and Alberta (79%).

Regarding the type of Charter that should be developed, two thirds (64%) feel that Canada needs "a Canadian Health Charter that explains both the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved in the health system including patients, health professionals and governments." Only one-third (34%) say that Canada needs "a Patient Bill of Rights that explains to patients which services they are entitled to and how these services will be delivered."

• Regionally, support for the Canadian Health Charter option is highest in British Columbia (71%), followed by Atlantic Canada (67%), Alberta (65%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (64%), and Quebec (64%). The lowest level of support for this option is in Ontario (61%).

Other findings of the study

As for how such a Charter would be drawn up, seven in ten (69%) of Canadians say that "the Federal Government should establish a Charter in partnership with the provincial and territorial governments even if it takes more time." This compares to only 29% who agree that "the Federal Government should establish a Charter on its own because it will take too long to get all of the provinces and territories to agree."

• Regionally, support for a federal - provincial partnership is strongest in Quebec (77%) and Alberta (75%), followed by British Columbia (71%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (69%), and Ontario (65%). Lowest support for this approach is among residents of Atlantic Canada (60%).
• Regionally, support for the federal government going a head with the development of a Charter unilaterally is strongest in Atlantic Canada (37%).

More than nine in ten Canadians believe that a it is important that a Canadian Health Charter include "a broad vision and plan to improve the health care system in Canada" (94%), "a list of the services that Canadians can expect the health care system to provide (94%), "a set of clearly defined roles, rights, and responsibilities for governments, healthcare providers and patients" (94%), "a list of standards for timely access to services" (93%), as well as "a multiple year commitment from governments to fund the system" (94%).

Two-thirds (67%) of Canadians find it believable that "a Canadian Health Charter will ensure that our national health standards are not replaced with a series of provincial and territorial standards that are different across the country." A similar number (67%) also find it believable that a charter "will force governments to make long term financial commitments to the health system."

Eight in ten (82%) of Canadians agree that "a Canadian Health Charter should outline national principles for the health system but it should also allow each province and territory the ability to outline how they plan to meet those national standards".

At the same time, Canadians also maintain a healthy skepticism about the Health Charter, with just under one-half finding it believable that a Charter will "stop the privatization of the health system in Canada" (47%), or that it will "solve things like waiting lists and crowded hospitals" (45%).

Other findings include that nine in ten (91%) Canadians agree that it would be a "good idea to set up a Canadian Health Commission that would include some representation from health professionals and from patients to provide governments with advice on healthcare." A similar proportion (89%) also agree that it would be a "good idea to have an independent Health Commissioner that would report on the state of Canada's health system, the same way that the Auditor General reports on Government programs and spending practices."

To view the complete factum and tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mike Colledge
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(613) 241-5802

or

Carole Lavigne
Manager, Media Relations
Canadian Medical Association
(613)731-8610 or 1-800-663-7336 ext. 1266
or go to www.cma.ca