Public health-care system is working well
Re: “Inside private health care; Why private clinics are on the rise ... and under the microscope,” Jan. 26.
Some time soon, we are going to have to take a societal stand and decide where we are going with our endeared but embattled health-care system. Are we in this together and for the long haul, or are we going to succumb to the pressures and machinations of corporate interests and (mostly conservative) governments who have been attempting to disassemble and discredit our system for the past two to three decades?
Technology has put inordinate pressures on our health-care system. Yes, in an ideal world, it would be nice if everyone could undergo every screening test for every major disease and illness. However, this will only happen if we are willing to double our tax rates and pour it all into health care.
The example quoted of the 52-year-old male with heart problems was misleading and typical of stories from advocates of privatization. I had an elderly female patient in my office late this past Friday afternoon with suspicious chest symptoms. She is now booked for an exercise stress test on Tuesday and will see a cardiologist within this week if the tests are aberrant. And this service is superior to the private story above, without a single dollar out of her pocket.
I wish those quoted, Dr. Trevor Theman from the College of Physicians and Surgeons and Health Minister Fred Horne, would have let our profession and the public know sooner that they are eager to talk to patients who have been unceremoniously dumped back into the system without access to a family physician. I could have provided them with hundreds of names and I expect many of my colleagues, who are still supportive of and striving to provide respectful care in our beleaguered system, would be happy to do the same. Robert C. Dickson, MD,
Calgary