Health Canada is poised to announce that it will create a new organization to increase the effectiveness of drug monitoring after the drugs have been approved for sale.

The development comes on the two-year anniversary of the death of Oakville teenager Vanessa Young. She died after taking the stomach drug Prepulsid. After her death, the drug was pulled off the market.

Vanessa's father Terrance Young says the family is still struggling to cope with her death.




"We've been trying to give some dignity to the loss of Vanessa, to Vanessa's death. We've all had a loss in our family as you can well imagine. It has been quite surreal," said Young.

Evidence provided at the coroner's inquiry into Vanessa's death indicated possible deficiencies in the existing drug surveillance system used in Canada.

The jury also asked the department to help set up a system that would make it mandatory for health care providers to report when a drug has caused an unexpected side effect that seriously injured or killed someone within 48 hours.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal demanded last year that Health Canada set up a drug monitoring agency. Eric Wooltorton, an editor at the Journal, says drug safety has to be an ongoing process.

"I think you're going to need a lot of quality data coming in from physicians. Physicians are going to have to continue to report, especially the serious adverse drug reactions, and give as many clinical details as they can," said Wooltorton.

The department at Health Canada responsible for drug safety says the new organization will ensure drugs are safe for doctors to prescribe.

Dr. Robert Peterson, director general of Health Canada's Therapeutic Products Directorate, says the agency will effectively serve Canadians.

"Their responsibilities will be to acquire both domestically and internationally data that can be assessed and packaged in a manner that will allow for us to take timely decisions," said Peterson.

While it's unclear what powers the monitoring organization will have, critics stress it must have the power to act quickly in any threatening situations.

Opposition politicians say the Health Department should have acted faster in light of the recommendations from the coroner's jury.

NDP health critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis says an independent agency is the way to go.

"It must have the ability to enforce mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions."

Rob Merrifield, the Alliance's senior health critic, says that Health Canada should make it mandatory for health care providers to report adverse drug reactions.

"If it's voluntary, then you're letting a lot of drugs fall through the cracks and a lot of victims fall through the cracks."