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Remember when Alberta Health Services (AHS) proposed changes to the pediatric Popsicle policy this spring and received so much public backlash that it was walked back within two weeks?

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Well, yet another nonsensical policy change has just been announced: quietly ending the ceremonial ringing of the cancer bell in the oncology wards of provincial children’s hospitals, an event that marks the end of a child’s cancer treatments and signifies remission.

This policy change, which was made without public consultation, certainly cannot be defended on the grounds of cost: Whatever minimal expense this may create for hospitals, it pales in comparison to watching the joyous smiles and happy tears on the faces of those children and their loved ones.

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So what reasons were given? Officially, AHS claims that it may be considered insensitive to grieving families to allow this ceremony to continue. There is also the argument that it poses........

© Edmonton Journal