It has often been said that laughter is the best medicine, and while I cannot offer any informed medical opinion as to whether or not this is true, it certainly seems plausible.
So plausible in fact that it now appears our provincial government has embraced this concept as the sole solution to solving the health care woes of this province. This particular government appears to prefer simple and single solutions rather than the more confusing complex, multiple solutions that other governments employ. Now this is not to say that our government is stupid, although it does bring to mind the famous quote, “Not every conservative I have met is stupid, but it seems that all the stupid people I’ve met are conservative.”
I’m now thoroughly convinced that the province is engaged in a huge “Laughter is the Best Medicine” program. Otherwise, how can one possibly explain the following events?
• In a routine worthy of the famed Marx Brothers, we all bore witness to some of our MLAs patting themselves on the back while they were busy opening new beds in one of the city’s hospitals, while, at the other end of the building, the administration was busy closing down beds due to budgetary constraints. What I really love about our politicians is their willingness to play the straight man in these comedy routines — standing and looking very, very serious while everyone is rolling in the aisles in laughter.
• Further merriment ensued when our same leaders moved to shut down more than half of the beds at Alberta Hospital Edmonton due to the recent discovery that the community could care for mentally ill patients. On the surface this might not appear funny, but when the government then moved to cut funding to these same community groups, you’ve got to agree this is pure genius. I’m sorry but Bob Hope was never this funny.
• This third one tops them all. As any conscious individual knows, we’ve been hearing about the seasonal flu and H1N1 influenza for many months now. Convinced that our government had the situation firmly in hand, I called my doctor’s office to arrange a flu shot. After some hesitation, they informed me, “We don’t do that, call public health.” Fair enough, I called public health in St. Albert with the same request. In response, I was informed, “We have no schedule for regular flu shots or H1N1 shots. We don’t know if they will be administered together or as two separate treatments. We don’t know if they will be given at the same time or different times, and we don’t know if they will be given at the same location or different locations. We do not know if there will be criteria for who receives these shots or in what order. We do not know the dates, or times for these shots. Further, we don’t know when we will know! However, the government will not test for H1N1 unless you’re admitted to the hospital, so even if you don’t get the shot, you’ll never know whether you’ve got H1N1 flu or not.” Wow! Jerry Seinfeld, are you taking notes? You just can’t make up this stuff.
While some may say I’ve been too harsh on our provincial government, I have a feeling that, to the Tories, long-term planning revolves around what’s for lunch?
Brian McLeod’s latest medical tests showed he would “die laughing.” Now he’s really worried.
