Here is an interesting article that compares Canadian Emergency wards to that of a third world country. People getting sicker or dying waiting to be seen, frankly it’s shocking (and for me humbling cos yeah I waited a long time for care and I stayed in a hallway but I didn’t DIE THERE so I should just shut up a little I guess). Again folks, it isn’t the medical staff’s fault, they cared it was obvious to me. They were frustrated by the people who were there and shouldn’t be too. The system, it’s just broken.
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I’ve been on the other side of the fence, being sick in the United States without medical insurance and I can tell you I’d much rather be here in our admittedly problematic socialized medical system. We need to improve things here but at least my family doesn’t have to worry about having to file for bankruptcy or losing our home. So it’s a tough issue.
I really hope your surgery can be scheduled soon – having to endure such a long wait time and deal with such horrible pain is not good :-(
Oh I hear ya Vicki, my Hubby is American, its that I hear too often from American friends that we are so lucky we have socialized medicine they don’t see the bad parts about it and think we’re sitting pretty up here with our “free” healthcare. I keep saying to them.. folks it aint free it’s just tax payer funded, the system helps those who can’t afford insurance. The wait times are awful, my Mom had to wait several weeks with an aneurism in her brain that could blow any time before she got her surgery. The care however was awesome I don’t blame the caregivers at all.
My beef is also with the triage in emerg and how people can’t be turned away, when I was there, a lady with pink eye took an ambulence to emerg and then complained about how long it took for a doctor to see her. These people are tying up resources for people that need em.
I’m also in some kind of weird limbo where my own GP is asking ME if i have a surgical date yet, I mean I’m the patient I know less than they do and have access to less info. I called my Doc this morning (as he told me to if I had another attack) and his office called me back to ask if I had called the surgeons office… when I did that last time they just told me to go to emerg I told his assistant that and she’s going to try calling the surgeon now to see if she can get any more info. I’m a pingpong ball! sighs.