I dunno whether this belongs in the rant section or not but decided to put it here since it deals with the canadian medical system (or perhaps its just provincal). Anyways, I was reading the paper the other day and a pregnant woman went to the ER for whatever reason because she wasnt feeling well and I guess they didnt think she needed to be seen asap. When she started telling them that something was seriously wrong with her, they got very rude apparently. Anyways, after a SIX hour wait, she finally lost her baby
Sometimes I wonder if I would rather pay insurance premiums and have some decent healthcare.
But I agree, poor triaging. My experience has been that if it is in fact an emergency, they will get you in right away. Apparently this poor woman got someone who wasn't up to standards.
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The doctors and nurses say that they are overworked and understaffed so they are blaming it on the government. I dont know, I'm just glad that this lady went to the press...maybe now something will get done about it.
I agree- doctors and nurses are understaffed and overworked. At least here in Ontario, the "common sense revolution" (that is a complete oxymoron) made huge cuts to the health care system and expected it still function at the same level.
Socialized health care is great, imho, but in order for it to meet the needs and demands of our citizens, it needs proper funding.
Let's face it the whole system needs to be revamped nation wide. I've lived in 3 different provinces and have had some problems with health care in all 3.
I agree, write to your MP, MPP and the PM.
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My MIL got taken to emerg after a car accident on the DVP, by an ambulance. First thing they did was print a $45 bill and hand it to her.
We then waited 5 hours to be told we were going to the walk in clinic inside the hospital.
I believe the problem is that the triage nurses don't have enough say. There should be interns at the desk. This way patients can be assessed.
Some people go into emergency rooms for small reasons. Things that you can go see your family doctor or a walk in clinic for. While we were there there was a woman who was told the day before she may have an ectopic. She had the ultrasound but the technician would not tell her anything.
By 5 that morning she was in agony. She came to emerg where they made her sit with us for 5 hours. After an hour they called on the loud speaker for AN OB to come to emerg immediatley for an ectopic burst. Her husband was furious and screaming.
We finally got seen in the walk in clinic 7 hours after being brought in.
I agree, I would rather pay a premium and be assessed at the triage desk and either be sent home or be seen. But the wait is incredable and they don't believe you when you say things, especially when you are dealing with a pregnant woman.
I have had many situations like this. this is just one. I love having my health care paid for, but what are we getting. Bills for ambulance rides that mean nothing. Come on.
concerned canadian
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I'd like to have the option of paying for "extras". (like thyroid tests that I can't get because my TSH is normal) But, I also like that most things are covered. I've read some posts about costs for gyn, endos, etc and I can't imagine having that much extra stress on me. So, I'm thankful for that.... but we do need improved care. Good care, not just adequate.
My ER story: I smashed the back of my head, and was bleeding a lot. My boyfriend took me to the university hospital, where I waited 3 hours to be seen. When I was seen, they just poked around in my blood clotted hair (I still had lots of hair back then!) and sent me home with some gauze pads. The next day, my brother asked to see the cut....and he was surprised it was so big. He took me to a different hospital, where they put in about 10 stitches. They wouldn't have been able to put them in if I'd waited much longer. (risk of infection increases) So....that was my experience.
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Wow, you ladies have had some crappy experiences too. I dont have anything too dramatic...lots of long waits but no big mess ups. Thing that gets me is we DO pay for our healthcare, its called taxes. Its not like the government is doing us a favor or anything by covering it, we do pay a price. I'm just saying that sometimes I would rather have reduced taxes and have to buy insurance. Theres no excuse for some of the things that go on in the ERs.
I agree, our health care system needs some serious work. I've got some ER stories that could curl your hair. A number of years back, before I got married, I took my roommate to the ER because of severe abdominal pain. We waited 3 hours to see the on call physician and this is what happened: He looked down her throat, asked her if she smoked, and then told her she had an upper respiratory tract infection and probably had a stomach ache from eating too many Halls! He never even touched her abdomen!! We were so flabbergasted we just sat there with our mouths hanging open. She was later diagnosed with gall stones.
Fast forward a few years-- I went with a friend of mine visiting from Man. to take her very ill 7 month old baby in. The child had already vomitted on all the clothing they'd brought for her and had not had a wet diaper in 18 hours. The idiot doctor told her that her baby was NOT DEHYRATED!! They promptly left for home, and by the time they reached Winnipeg, the baby was already completely limp and unresponsive. That child could have died because the grossly negligent care she received here! This begs the question, are some of our ER doctors completely uneducated idiots, or do they just not give a flying fart about the people they're supposed to be treating?! Underfunding and understaffing is definitely a huge pressing issue, but so is the quality of doctors were are producing in our medical schools. That being said, by no means are all ER docs like that. I have personally had a couple of wonderful doctors look after me on the occassions when I needed an ER visit during my second pregnancy. My point is that we do have some very poor quality doctors in our ERs and there is just absolutely no excuse for that in my opinion.
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Originally posted by oohmercyme So...who has written their MP, MPP, and dear Mr Martin?
Not me. Simply because I dont blame the whole incident on the politicians and their cutbacks. I think too much of it has to do with poor time management and doctors simply not giving a damn anymore. Granted they could use more staff but they arent even effectively using what they've got.
Anyways...not to debate...
KT, I just dont even know what to say. I suppose perhaps the doctors arent actually at fault for some incidents because they honestly dont know. Maybe our medical schools arent quite up to standards either?
Originally posted by Canadian Kokopelli I dont blame the whole incident on the politicians and their cutbacks. I think too much of it has to do with poor time management and doctors simply not giving a damn anymore. Granted they could use more staff but they arent even effectively using what they've got.
Anyways...not to debate...
Thats an awfully inflammatory statement to make and then say "not to debate".
It's really a shame that the minority (lazy, self-absorbed, incompetent medical professionals) overshadow the majority (caring, hard-working, dedicated). (When was the last time we saw a news story about a medical professional who went above and beyond the call of duty? Probably never. Not because it doesn't exist, but cuz it doesn't sell papers.) But then that's how it is with everything, imho.
Not to debate of course.
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* * * * * * * * * * "My grace is sufficient for you." 2 Corinthians 12:9a
6 hour wait in ER 
