Health care doldrums
Health Care Wait Times
I
’m concerned about the length of waiting endured by people needing health care to give them a better quality of life. How often do we hear that we’re not here long on earth? Well it gets really shorter when you don’t feel well. What’s going on!?
Maybe I’m just a senior and don’t remember people not getting the care they so need, when they need it.
Praise the Lord emergencies are usually cared for in a timely manner, but some patients waiting for attention could have their owies turn into an emergency, like a hernia for instance. Why must a person wait ions for that!?
Are the thousands of immigrants escaping to Canada getting medical attention first before those who helped build this country? Are there not enough doctors? If a shortage of money is the problem, why shouldn’t a visit to the doctor cost each person a reasonable fee? Is our health care system a mess because of politics? There are so many questions that need to be answered to the general public.
I’ve asked the appropriate politicians for answers but just get passed off onto others who seemingly have nothing to say about it. Some answers on EvidenceNetwork.ca explain somewhat about surgical wait times:
“One frequent suggestion for addressing surgical wait times is allowing more forprofit healthcare facilities. In practical terms, this would mean that some patients would wait for treatment in a not-for-profit facility, while patients with more cash, or with private insurance, would wait for the same treatment in a for-profit facility.” At first glance, this would appear to divide one long line-up into several, thus shortening wait times for all. However, research from around the world shows that parallel private systems actually make wait times in publiclyfunded healthcare facilities worse.
Privatization and long wait times: Parallel public and private healthcare is when the same range of medical treatments is offered in institutions that bill public insurance as in institutions that bill private insurance.
In a parallel system, private institutions can provide faster care - to patients who can pay but they seriously compromise access for those waiting for care in the public system by luring staff away from public facilities, and creating financial incentives for professionals who generate income through private care. There is also evidence suggesting that private healthcare encourages overuse and that wait times in publicly funded systems get longer in part to create demand for paying more in the private sector.
Another issue is that private healthcare providers may leave expensive cases to the public systems and “cherry pick” patients who are healthier and younger, or who have conditions that are easier and cheaper to treat.”
ML McMillan of the U of A was very helpful in steering me toward a lot of this information and said that “Examining such a topic is like going down a rabbit hole - never ending
I agree. Lynda Geymonat