05.22.06
The Joys of Public Health Care
Lately, our family have been experiencing first-hand, our “wonderful” health care system here in Canada. For those of you in less fortunate countries, we have free public health care - which means we don’t pay when we see the doctor or need hospital care (unless we want upgraded facilities, like a semi-private room). We are heavily taxed for this privilege, mind you, and have the idea that when we do need health care, it will be there for us.
Well, now my aunt needs health care. She is elderly and has a 15 pound tumour in her stomach. Once the doctors established that the tumour was benign, I guess she went down on the priority pole. After being admitted for surgery a few weeks ago (at a highly regarded hospital here in Toronto), she spent the next four hours waiting in a cubicle in a hard wheelchair. Next, she was discharged and sent home because there were no beds.
The following week, my aunt was admitted again and after a few hours had her intravenous inserted - a good sign, or so we thought. This time she stayed for an extra couple of hours and was then told that the doctor was still busy with someone else, so she would be discharged again. Although she did have the option of waiting until midnight when her then exhausted surgeon would be able to operate. Oh, but there were no beds again, so that wouldn’t be a good choice either.
So after many tears, my thoroughly frustrated aunt took yet another trip back to her home on the other side of the city. The hospital staff assured her that the surgery might be possible in July, so in the meantime she can hire someone to stay with her and use her walker to get around.
If anyone were to ask me right now, the option of private care is looking pretty good. Like the saying goes, “you get what you pay for”.