SAANICHNEWS NEWS
SPORTS
Big shoes to fill
The right stuff
Victoria MP Denise Savoie steps down this week, and pundits weigh in on the ramifications. Page A3, A11
Many are called but few will make the cut. An inside look at the Victoria Royals rookie camp. Page A21
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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A hidden treasure of Saanich
Cutting rider ‘pass ups’ remains priority
Horticultural Centre of the Pacific volunteer gardener Jock von Kaldenberg clears deadwood at Outerbridge Park in Royal Oak. Volunteers work at the park every Thursday morning, and together with Saanich workers, have restored much of the natural beauty in one of Saanich’s hidden treasures. To help volunteer at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific, see hcp.ca.
Natalie North News staff
PLEASE SEE: Students, Page A7
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B.C. Transit tweaks bus routes to UVic Madeline Keller-MacLeod says she’s lucky to ride the No. 26 and 27 bus routes to Camosun and the University of Victoria on weekdays. They’re not what the Camosun College Student Society external affairs officer calls most “ridiculous routes,” and so, unlike some of her peers, she always gets on the bus. But she’s still bracing for the tight ride students have come to expect each September when classes resume – a seasonal problem B.C. Transit is hoping to dramatically reduce following a revamp of service to UVic and Camosun. Trips with low ridership were reduced and the service was re-allocated to the busiest routes. The majority of new trips are now added in the morning peak period to UVic. As well, 5,000 service hours on UVic and/or Camosun-bound routes that came into effect last spring will continue through the fall. “That might help us a bit in terms of pass ups, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be enough,” Keller-MacLeod said. “In September we see people trying to get on the buses, then after a few weeks of missing classes, or being late for classes, they do try to do something different, and often it’s driving, unfortunately.” Between Sept. 1, 2011 and Jan. 31, 2012, transit drivers reported a total of 29,296 pass ups, with the vast majority of that number (20,448) on routes servicing Camosun and UVic.
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Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Drug shortages strain pharmacies Daniel Palmer News staff
Greater Victoria pharmacists are dealing with an extraordinary scarcity in certain injectable drugs. While shortages are common in the health-care industry, the supply of anesthetics, narcotic pain relievers and other sedatives has dwindled since the country’s largest manufacturer, Sandoz, reduced output at its sole Canadian plant in February. “It’s been an unusual or unique situation,” said Caren Heughan, Victoria pharmacist and B.C. Pharmacy Association board
member. “But shortages are something we deal with on a regular basis.” Heughan, who works at Victoria Compounding Pharmacy, said pharmacists often work around shortages by finding alternative forms of the medication in oral or capsule formats. But in certain cases, Heughan has been forced to contact drug manufacturers to access an emergency supply of hard-to-find medications. “The manufacturer does have a small amount of these medications on allocation so the pharmacist can sometimes request emergency quantity,” she said.
The shortage of injectable drugs impacts hospitals as well, but the fear of postponed surgeries from a lack of anesthetics is unfounded, said Susan Evans with VIHA. “There’s been a shortage of drugs for a number of months, going back to February,” she said. “It’s an issue that really lies with the supplier.” Sandoz Canada’s plant, located in Boucherville, Que., specializes in the production of specific injectable generic drugs. Sandoz slowed production after a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration identified quality control
concerns in February. The company secured a thirdparty manufacturer at the end of July and anticipates greater supply of anti-nausea, diuretic and pain management drugs soon. “This alternative supply is expected to ... be available to Canadian patients before the end of 2012,” Sandoz president Michel Robidoux said in a statement. Heughan said pharmacists will continue to work with doctors to provide medication for patients, regardless of the shortage. “It’s not the patient’s fault that the medication has become unavailable,” she said. dpalmer@vicnews.com
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