Living in Canada with a universal health care system would make us believe that we all have fair equal access to health care and treatment, regardless of where we live. Health care is always an important issue in any election and has sparked more than one debate by our leaders. We are always talking about getting more services locally or adding pieces of technology that make a diagnosis faster or easier. And we often fight and lobby to keep our services stable in this province.
I believe that as our population ages this will become more of an issue. The province of Newfoundland has one of the fastest aging populations in the country and this is going to challenge everything. The rural parts of this province will be the first ones to feel the health care crisis. Enticing and retaining medical specialists in rural areas is a major challenge and as demand increases for these services it will become even harder to accomplish.
Without access to specialists we have to wait for long periods of time to see specialists in other areas of the province. Having to wait is nothing new, but how long should the wait be? And should where you live affect this wait time? Should a person in a rural area and a person in an urban with the same problem wait the same amount of time? Both show up to the hospital (in their home towns) and present to the emergency department and initially both are handled the same way. They are both referred to see a specialist. I understand that in an emergency situation, when it is a matter of life and death, the wait times for specialist are closer to even.
However, if the person in a rural hospital is in stable condition, they have to wait for a bed in St. John’s while the person in St. John’s is already in a bed. This often causes a longer wait for the rural person. Both are trying to deal with the mental challenges of not knowing what is wrong or how their life will change. The person in St. John’s is seen within a short time and they have their course of action mapped out. They might require surgery or other treatment however they have the advantage of knowing what the course of action is.
Depending on the case load in St. John’s, the person in the rural area may end up waiting weeks for a bed to become free. During the wait that person is placed under tremendous stress due to the uncertainty of not knowing what is happening and how their life change. Waiting extended see a specialist, and not knowing your exact diagnosis or form of treatment is a form of mental torture. Your life is on hold until you can figure out exactly what is wrong with you and move forward with a treatment plan.
When you are transported to another area to see a specialist or for tests you are told that the health care system will get you there however you are responsible to get home on your own. I believe that this adds further to a patients stress and causes even more problems. Some people, particularly elderly, or those who are on fixed incomes do not have the financial resources to make the trip home. Sometimes they are released from the hospital and do not feel well enough to fly home or to take a long roadtrip on a bus full of people. I realize that the main reason for this rule is cost and the extra cost that the system would have to bear to get you home. However the question needs to be asked if this is the right policy.
Many people have told me that they have traveled twelve hours to St. John’s for a 15 minute appointment with a specialist. A 15 minute session for a person living in St. John’s is no big deal. However, it is a major ordeal and tremendous financial burden for someone who has to travel 24 hours return trip for the 15 minute session only to be assessed and told to come back again in a few weeks for a procedure. I really think this is a shame and better alternatives should be found. While the treatment and care is top notch the wait times need some improvements to ensure fair access to all people regardless of where they live.
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