Oh, that socialist healthcare

[Montgomery Burns]

The family of a 57-year-old Meath Park woman says it will take at least three months before their mother gets to see a Saskatchewan oncologist who can tell her if her cancer is treatable or fatal.

And while Health Minister Len Taylor says three months is too long to wait, he offered little Wednesday to indicate wait times to see cancer specialists in this province will soon be getting shorter.

Emily Morley has already waited a month to see an oncologist since receiving her biopsy results that identified her secondary cancer, but were inconclusive in determining the primary source. Until that primary source is identified, her treatment cannot begin.

And even though the cancer is now in Morley's lungs, liver, pancreas and spine, the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic has advised her it will still take at least three months to see an oncologist.

Playing with people's lives

You might peruse the comments section (lots of venting), especially the lady who had a painful knee and an X-ray could find nothing wrong. When she went to a private clinic, the X-ray concluded that she had bone spurs in her knee. When she confronted the "nationlized healthcare" hospital about this, they sheepishly admitted that their X-ray machine was from 1952.

And more from a Reverend in Winnipeg:

Someone in his [doctor's] office suggested I go to Urgent Care. I stopped by there one day and saw roughly 20 people in the waiting room with one physician on duty. After hearing my wait could be over 12 hours, I left. I thought I'll wait until I can be treated a little more like an urgent case.

Finally, on Easter Saturday, the pain was so bad I returned. After six hours the doctor said he wasn't sure what was causing the pain. I would have to be referred for further tests. The preference was to assume it's an ulcer until we knew different. He prescribed some strong antacids. He also told me I would be getting an appointment for a barium X-ray and an appointment with a gastroenterologist.

He added, "If you see blood, however, come back right away."

I was astounded when informed my first appointment with a gastroenterologist would be in November. That's not the scope, that's just a first visit with the doctor!

I got angry when I got a letter saying my barium X-ray wouldn't be until September.

Five months for a general diagnostic X-ray? Seven months for a consultation to schedule a gastroscope?

[...]

Yesterday, a pastor friend of mine was visiting from North Dakota. Hearing my plight, he commented, "I know a great gastroenterologist. I'll give him a call." A short while later, I was talking to a doctor in North Dakota. After reviewing my symptoms and the schedule he said might be able to take me next week for both a gastroscope and a CAT scan, just in case the scope isn't conclusive.

Now I'm wondering if Manitoba Health will cover any of the cost. Cynicism would suggest that if they're delaying getting the most important diagnostic tests, they'll likely try to duck paying any of the bill if I go south.

What am I paying for?

So what exactly am I paying for here?

[...]

Maybe I'll become another poster child for NDP health care "improvements."

From one of those evil religious people!

[geoffrey]

You get what you pay for, we chose to got the second rate poor-man's system up here.

Oh well. Don't vote CPC to fix the problem either apparently, they are the same as the rest of them, just throw a few bucks at it.

No party in Canada currently in existence will fix our health care problems, until Canadians drop their ridiculous dogmatic views of health care provision.

[Montgomery Burns]

I liked one of the reader comments in this story:

"We have the best healthcare system in the world, just don't get sick."

[Riverwind]

No party in Canada currently in existence will fix our health care problems, until Canadians drop their ridiculous dogmatic views of health care provision.

The train has left the station which the supreme court ruling. Within 5 years Canadians will be able to purchase their own medical care and supplemental insurance while relying on a single payer model for primary insurance.

I see a lot of parallels between the deficit battle and the healthcare battle. The Canadian public was not willing to accept the need to cut spending in the 80s. This meant that even conservatives were forced to run huge deficits in order to stay in power. By the 90s the Canadian public had finally clued in that deficits were a problem and they let the Liberals do what needed to be done. Today, even the NDP accepts the need to keep the gov't budget balanced.

The same shift in public opinion has happened with healthcare now and the roadblocks to reform are mostly gone. Within 10 years, we will have mixed model system that we can be proud of again.

[Montgomery Burns]

Update:

Bad news this morning. Two weeks ago, we reported on the plight of Rev. Harry Lehotsky of Winnipeg who was suffering from abdominal pain and was told he had to wait five months for a barium x-ray and seven months for an appointment with a gastroenterologist (See 'Health Care: Paying to be on a waiting list').

According to the article in today's Winnipeg Free Press (link available for a limited time), "...the minister was insistent they [the tests] be moved up". The diagnosis? "...the ulcer doctors had been treating isn't an ulcer at all. It's pancreatic cancer. It has spread to his liver, spleen and lymph nodes. And it's inoperable." Doctors have given Rev. Lehotsky six weeks to nine months to live.

Sad to hear.

[BHS]

I liked one of the reader comments in this story:

"We have the best healthcare system in the world, just don't get sick."

This reminds me of the old Monty Python insurance skit where the vicar discovers he bought into the "Neverpay" policy.

[BHS]

Update:

Bad news this morning. Two weeks ago, we reported on the plight of Rev. Harry Lehotsky of Winnipeg who was suffering from abdominal pain and was told he had to wait five months for a barium x-ray and seven months for an appointment with a gastroenterologist (See 'Health Care: Paying to be on a waiting list').

According to the article in today's Winnipeg Free Press (link available for a limited time), "...the minister was insistent they [the tests] be moved up". The diagnosis? "...the ulcer doctors had been treating isn't an ulcer at all. It's pancreatic cancer. It has spread to his liver, spleen and lymph nodes. And it's inoperable." Doctors have given Rev. Lehotsky six weeks to nine months to live.

Sad to hear.

Always sad to hear about terminal cancer. From what I've heard, though, pancreatic cancer is a death sentence whether it's metastasized or not, and because it's always inoperable and aggressive. So, as much I dislike our healthcare system, it's hard to blame this guy's death on poor healthcare.

[Michael Hardner]

These cases are horrible, but is there any sense as to how often this is happening ? Is there any official response to these articles ? I can't believe that this is absolutely the norm right now.

[Montgomery Burns]

Update:

Bad news this morning. Two weeks ago, we reported on the plight of Rev. Harry Lehotsky of Winnipeg who was suffering from abdominal pain and was told he had to wait five months for a barium x-ray and seven months for an appointment with a gastroenterologist (See 'Health Care: Paying to be on a waiting list').

According to the article in today's Winnipeg Free Press (link available for a limited time), "...the minister was insistent they [the tests] be moved up". The diagnosis? "...the ulcer doctors had been treating isn't an ulcer at all. It's pancreatic cancer. It has spread to his liver, spleen and lymph nodes. And it's inoperable." Doctors have given Rev. Lehotsky six weeks to nine months to live.

Sad to hear.

Always sad to hear about terminal cancer. From what I've heard, though, pancreatic cancer is a death sentence whether it's metastasized or not, and because it's always inoperable and aggressive. So, as much I dislike our healthcare system, it's hard to blame this guy's death on poor healthcare.

I'm not blaming our healthcare system for this situation, but I earlier blamed our sytem for the guy having to wait 5 months for a general diagnostic X-ray and 7 months for a consultation to schedule a gastroscope. As you can see in my OP, the Reverend could've been taken in in 1 week if he went to North Dakota.

I guess the doctors erred in his diagnosis, but I can't blame that on our healthcare system because I believe that the overwhelming vast majority of doctors try their very best.

[Hicksey]

Update:

Bad news this morning. Two weeks ago, we reported on the plight of Rev. Harry Lehotsky of Winnipeg who was suffering from abdominal pain and was told he had to wait five months for a barium x-ray and seven months for an appointment with a gastroenterologist (See 'Health Care: Paying to be on a waiting list').

According to the article in today's Winnipeg Free Press (link available for a limited time), "...the minister was insistent they [the tests] be moved up". The diagnosis? "...the ulcer doctors had been treating isn't an ulcer at all. It's pancreatic cancer. It has spread to his liver, spleen and lymph nodes. And it's inoperable." Doctors have given Rev. Lehotsky six weeks to nine months to live.

Sad to hear.

Always sad to hear about terminal cancer. From what I've heard, though, pancreatic cancer is a death sentence whether it's metastasized or not, and because it's always inoperable and aggressive. So, as much I dislike our healthcare system, it's hard to blame this guy's death on poor healthcare.

I lost my mother in law to similar circumstances and nearly my mother in the last 2 years. Yes, its sad but mostly makes me angry that we pay so much to be generally neglected.

For instance, my mother in law had been bothering her doctor for over a year that something more than just old age pain was bothering her before she was rushed to the hospital and died less than 6 hours later. I pulled some strings and about 2 weeks before shge passed on and got her into see another doctor out of town that referred her to London, ON for further tests. 3 days after she passed on we got the tests back. She was so riddled with cancer it wasn't funny. She basically suffered in pain for a year for nothing when she could have been treated and possibly lived on for another year or two. I don't care what you say, if this system costs ANYONE even one day of their life because of its glaring inadequacies ... its not worth it. One shouldn't have to cross an international border to get timely health care.

And my own mother had a different doctor and was getting the same story ... it was just pain that came with getting older. Not many people would call a burst appendix a miracle, but I do because if my mother's hadn't burst and they wouldn't have found the colon cancer while they had her open I would likely have also buried her. The care that came with it was lacklustre as well. Waiting lists to get on chemotherapy cost her 8 weeks, and the resulting spreading of the cancer to her gall bladder and liver cost her a second and third surgery to remove the gall bladder and half her liver removed. The miracle given by the Lord was almost taken away by the health care system in this country.

Last weekend I hugged my mother and took my wife to see a headstone that could have been a living breathing human being had she not been cheated out of the health care her and her husband paid for from each of their paycheques over the last 35 years.

I admit its nice to not have a bill from a routine doctor/hospital visit. But what price do we pay for that? I submit that its more than just what comes off our paycheques. Some pay with their lives.

[margrace]

Everyone seems to forget that the doctors are private contractors to the Health Care Plan. It appears to me that every case of death and neglect on here is because of negligence by doctors. So do you think that by paying to see a doctor you are going to get better service, if so why?

Even in our own area or at least south of us it is apparent that some doctors do not like treating anyone they consider old.

If we go to private insurance plans then they will decide what tests etc. one gets and it has been reported in information I have read that they do not like expensive procedures and will avoid them if possible.

It is not the health care system causing the problems and the biggest detractors of it appear, to me, to be those who have money ti invest in private insurance companies.

[Biblio Bibuli]

Macleans Magazine has a good article in it this week.

It seems that many of our dedicated Canadian doctors are just plain tired of treating grumpy & unhappy sick people.

So they're changing their practices over to giving Botox injections & laser hair removals. Ten years of training subsidized by us so that they can do procedures that a Estee Lauder clerk in The Bay could do.

We may be going to die young because of our lack of medical care ... but Canadians are going to make very good looking corpses.

[Hicksey]

Everyone seems to forget that the doctors are private contractors to the Health Care Plan. It appears to me that every case of death and neglect on here is because of negligence by doctors. So do you think that by paying to see a doctor you are going to get better service, if so why?

Even in our own area or at least south of us it is apparent that some doctors do not like treating anyone they consider old.

If we go to private insurance plans then they will decide what tests etc. one gets and it has been reported in information I have read that they do not like expensive procedures and will avoid them if possible.

It is not the health care system causing the problems and the biggest detractors of it appear, to me, to be those who have money ti invest in private insurance companies.

The neglect and apathy doesn't just stop there. A lot of it comes after the family doctor in the form of waiting lines that people end up dying a part of. The system is as much the problem as the doctors themselves.