INDEPTH: SARS
Walker Report
CBC News Online | April 23, 2004
The Expert Panel on SARS and Infectious Disease Control was established in May 2003.
The panel received more than 265 written submissions and conducted 12 focus groups and around 150 interviews with various levels of health care providers, administrators and other experts.
On April 21, 2004,the panel released its final report entitled For the Public's Health – A Plan of Action.
The panel, chaired by Dr. David Walker, dean of health sciences at Queen's University, added 50 more recommendations to the 53 in their December 2003 interim report.
These include:
- An infusion of $200 million a year over the next five years to strengthen the public health system.
- Establishing a new health protection and promotion agency, with responsibilities in epidemiology, scientific analysis, risk communications, research and training.
- Establishing an agency to focus on problems with infectious disease control, but to assume responsibility for health promotion and injury prevention efforts by the third year of its existence.
- Locating a new central public health laboratory in the agency.
- Changing the legislation to give the chief medical officer of health legal authority to speak and report on matters of public health during an emergency without notifying the minister.
- Establishing a standing provincial communicable disease committee to advise the Ministry of Health and liaise with regional infection control networks.
- Establishing regional communicable disease and infection control networks across Ontario.
- Increasing the percentage of full-time health-care workers.
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