NationStates Jolt Archive

(AP) A letter from the Moncton Hospital to a New Brunswick heart patient in need of an electrocardiogram said the appointment would be in three months. It added: "If the person named on this computer-generated letter is deceased, please accept our sincere apologies."

The patient wasn't dead, according to the doctor who showed the letter to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. But there are many Canadians who claim the long wait for the test and the frigid formality of the letter are indicative of a health system badly in need of emergency care.


Does anyone else living in Canada have a health care horror story worse than this?

My boyfriend was having chest pains and he went to the doctor and got an appointment the for next day at the hospital for tests... (they were persistant chest pains, not like sudden ones that would indicate a heart attack, but longer term ones that might just have indicated something wrong)

I live in Canada too...

My boyfriend was having chest pains and he went to the doctor and got an appointment the for next day at the hospital for tests... (they were persistant chest pains, not like sudden ones that would indicate a heart attack, but longer term ones that might just have indicated something wrong)

I live in Canada too...

Anything having to do with the heart sounds so scary to me. After all, we all only have one.

After all, we all only have one.
That's not true!
I have two in my fridge!

:D
[for those who cannot tell, I am joking.]

I live in Canada as well...

I was skate-boarding when some crazy kids decided to throw rocks at me becuase I was a commie (best reason why I could think of), so I decided to catch up to give them a piece of my mind. Something pulled/tore/suffocated in my leg, and it didn't feel bad, but something was wrong. so i went to the hospital immediately (it was on a saturday - BIG MISTAKE), and there was a huge waiting list. Despite me spazzing out to front of the line, still took me 2 hours to do so, and by the time I got to the doctor, he saw my leg and started complaining on how I should've come to him earlier. Man, I was pissed. The result? I had to get a couple expensive drugs what's-it-called, putting a huge dent in my insurance thing because I came too late.

Who the hell wants to sit around reading nasty horror hospital stories?

If you'd faked a heart attack they'd let you in.

I had to wait for 6 hours in an emergency room starting from 4 am because I had an ulcer. They didn't consider it important so I waited.

Really you should go to a walk in clinic if it's not life threatening.

If you'd faked a heart attack they'd let you in.

I had to wait for 6 hours in an emergency room starting from 4 am because I had an ulcer. They didn't consider it important so I waited.

Really you should go to a walk in clinic if it's not life threatening.

Really? Thanks. I'll try that next... :D

You should change the name to "Canadian Health Care Horror Myths".

Willamena, resident of Alberta.

And you people think that any of this is worse than US healthcare because...?

Listen, that letter wa probably to an elder patient who had regular ECG's every few months, and had a condition. While it would be sad, sometimes patients die before their cheduled checkup, Now, if you go in for chest pains, then you will be scheduled for one much earlier than that.

I could give you a whole list of medical horror stories from when I lived in the US as a child, and I had INSURANCE. Like waiting for over an hour in the emergency room with a cracked skull before a doctor could see me.

Canadian healthcare isn't perfect, but privatising it IS NOT the way to make it better. It will simply make it more expensive for us Canadian citizens.

And you people think that any of this is worse than US healthcare because...?

Listen, that letter wa probably to an elder patient who had regular ECG's every few months, and had a condition. While it would be sad, sometimes patients die before their cheduled checkup, Now, if you go in for chest pains, then you will be scheduled for one much earlier than that.

I could give you a whole list of medical horror stories from when I lived in the US as a child, and I had INSURANCE. Like waiting for over an hour in the emergency room with a cracked skull before a doctor could see me.

Canadian healthcare isn't perfect, but privatising it IS NOT the way to make it better. It will simply make it more expensive for us Canadian citizens.
I wholeheartedly agree.

I agree with you there.

Americans on average pay double what we do for our system, and Americans on average don't really have a decent health care system. Unless you make six figures a year, you're pretty much screwed.

Which is why Canada is so great, the rich can't buy their way to better healthcare.

I agree with you there.

Americans on average pay double what we do for our system, and Americans on average don't really have a decent health care system. Unless you make six figures a year, you're pretty much screwed.

Which is why Canada is so great, the rich can't buy their way to better healthcare.

Yes, they can we have some MRI's that you can pay for and they can go down to the states. Also our government pays less for healthcare than the US.

I agree with you there.

Americans on average pay double what we do for our system, and Americans on average don't really have a decent health care system. Unless you make six figures a year, you're pretty much screwed.

Which is why Canada is so great, the rich can't buy their way to better healthcare.


How would you know for one. I live in America. Buy my own insurance and really don't have any complaints on how I or my family is cared for. I wish it was cheaper. That is about it.

Yes you can buy your way to better health care in a Socialist health care system like Canada. When I lived in England for example. If you wanted to be seen right away. You paid a "private" doctor. He even came to the cottage. It was great. I'm sure it is no different than in Canada.

Yes you can buy your way to better health care in a Socialist health care system like Canada. When I lived in England for example. If you wanted to be seen right away. You paid a "private" doctor. He even came to the cottage. It was great. I'm sure it is no different than in Canada.
England has a two tier health system. We don't have that here. Well, ok, Quebec and Alberta are both pressing the government to privatize some aspects of the health care system.

England has a two tier health system. We don't have that here. Well, ok, Quebec and Alberta are both pressing the government to privatize some aspects of the health care system.


So, you are telling me that there are no "private" doctors in Canada. I find that hardly reasonable. I bet I could find private doctors by just doing a search on google.

Well you guys can complain all you want, but I live in Canada and I'm totally aware that our healthcare aint perfect. However, wouldnt these stories be worse if you added the American twist of "im sorry your HMO will not cover this" or the African twist of "Joseph call the witch doctor because the Red Cross is out of morphine". I mean come on people

Alright its a given being in a hospital is not fun...but SINCE WHEN is going hospital PLEASANT?
buncha whiny sissys

I know someone in the states who broker her arm and no clinics were open so she had to go to the emergency room and she had to fight tooth and nail to get her health insurance company to cover her trip.

So, you are telling me that there are no "private" doctors in Canada. I find that hardly reasonable. I bet I could find private doctors by just doing a search on google.
There are probably 'private' doctors, but I'm pretty sure it's not exactly legal, and the government do shut them down pretty often.

I know someone in the states who broker her arm and no clinics were open so she had to go to the emergency room and she had to fight tooth and nail to get her health insurance company to cover her trip.


That is not a common problem. I searched all over to find insurance coverage for myself and family. There wasn't any plans that I was aware of that had a problem with emergency room visits. Plus you can go to the county hospital and get treated along with the illegal immigrants for free if you wanted.

That is not a common problem. I searched all over to find insurance coverage for myself and family. There wasn't any plans that I was aware of that had a problem with emergency room visits. Plus you can go to the county hospital and get treated along with the illegal immigrants for free if you wanted.


Hahahah have you broken your arm yet?
If not how the hell would u know if they refuse it or not?
Whats written on their policy nd what they apply in actual fact are two different things. Theyll sell anything to get u to sign up with them but will make u sweat so u can get ur troubles covered.

"That is not a common problem. I searched all over to find insurance coverage for myself and family. There wasn't any plans that I was aware of that had a problem with emergency room visits. Plus you can go to the county hospital and get treated along with the illegal immigrants for free if you wanted."

Then you're smoking rather righteous crack!

The American branch of my family live in destitute poverty on the outskirts of Las Vegas. My auntie couldn't get any coverage from her employer. So she went in search of coverage she could afford for her and her daughter. Well, her daughter was at work one day and collapsed. Turns out that she had some bizzare condition. Well, my aunt right now has had to take two jobs to pay for the medical expenses.

And this isn't the first time I've heard of stories like this. They are fairly common, more than that. They are horrifyingly common! In fact, less than 50% of Americans (according to the UN) have health care access. On top of that, the average life span of the American is declining. The WHO and other top medical agencies blame this on the craptacular health care. And to make matters more embarassing...CUBA HAS A LOWER INFANT MORTALITY RATE THAN AMERICA! Cuba, a THIRD WORLD NATION HAS BETTER HEALTH CARE THAN AMERICA.

Welcome to the truth. Don't get hurt.

Being someone who has no medical insurance and barely gets by on college work study and studen loans I can say that the horror stories about the US medical system are also blow out of porportion. Bad things certainly do happen. However, when I recently had kidney stones I got the best medical care available despite my financial situation.
While I did spend several hours writhing in agnoy while they performed tests, that is understandable. They can't just had out narcotics to anyone who comes in complaining of pain. When they found out it was a kidney stone I was given some very good narcotics while spending two days in the hospitable before having surgery. I still havn't gotten anything resembling a bill, either.

The problem of people waiting hours in an ER has more to do with supply VS demand than anything else. ERs have to serve many patients in varrious conditions. For less critical patients the doctrine of first-come-first-served is usualy observed but patients who will die or suffer perment disability without immediate treatment get preferance. These patients usualy come by ambulance so the people in the waiting room never see them. As such, it appears that the doctors are slow when they are really busy.

Being someone who has no medical insurance and barely gets by on college work study and studen loans I can say that the horror stories about the US medical system are also blow out of porportion. Bad things certainly do happen. However, when I recently had kidney stones I got the best medical care available despite my financial situation.
While I did spend several hours writhing in agnoy while they performed tests, that is understandable. They can't just had out narcotics to anyone who comes in complaining of pain. When they found out it was a kidney stone I was given some very good narcotics while spending two days in the hospitable before having surgery. I still havn't gotten anything resembling a bill, either.

The problem of people waiting hours in an ER has more to do with supply VS demand than anything else. ERs have to serve many patients in varrious conditions. For less critical patients the doctrine of first-come-first-served is usualy observed but patients who will die or suffer perment disability without immediate treatment get preferance. These patients usualy come by ambulance so the people in the waiting room never see them. As such, it appears that the doctors are slow when they are really busy.


I want to hug you for this defense of the US health care system. Thank you.
Also, isn't Canada desparate for doctors at the moment?

As America is desperately in need of nurses.

Guess how much I pay here for my healthcare? Guess?

No, not nothing, you ignorant twits who think it's "free". I pay a Premium to the Government of Canada. 44 dollars a month plus taxes and such. And I would happily pay twice that. All those who push for privatisation in the least have NO UNDERSTANDING of how much the private companies will charge them. Not a measly 44 dollars a month, which some homeless people can pay.

Here's an American healthcare horror story for ya:

"Johnny started getting bad headaches one day at school. They got worse, but his family didn't have insurance (making him one of 45 million uninsured Americans-one of 11 million uninsured children), so he couldn't see a doctor. Eventually, he died of a brain tumor. The kid of the rich family across the city had the same problem, but he got the best care available and is expected to make a full recovery."

Remember- though sitting in the waiting room for hours on end or waiting a long time for a procedure to be scheduled may suck or be a miserable inconvenience, at least you aren't dying without insurance in the US.

Guess how much I pay here for my healthcare? Guess?

No, not nothing, you ignorant twits who think it's "free". I pay a Premium to the Government of Canada. 44 dollars a month plus taxes and such. And I would happily pay twice that. All those who push for privatisation in the least have NO UNDERSTANDING of how much the private companies will charge them. Not a measly 44 dollars a month, which some homeless people can pay.

I think the average bill here in the States is something like $200 a month. I know our healthcare spending is $4,000+ per capita. It's ridiculous.

Who goes to the hospital when they feel a bit ill or something that isn't life threatoning is wrong? Do you not have local GPs, physio's and things?

Who goes to the hospital when they feel a bit ill or something that isn't life threatoning is wrong? Do you not have local GPs, physio's and things?

Yeah, they're there. (I used to live in Toronto)

I have a health care horror story from Australia. A woman was visiting her local hospital, she had recently given birth and had come in to have her stitches removed. The doctor had removed them and she was almost at the counter to sign the medicare form, when her stomach split open and her insides were no longer inside. Turns out the surgeon may not have stapled the inside of her stomach.

Warning! I don't know if it was private or public, I don't even know if it actually happened, I only read it in a newspaper.

Problem is, that General Practitioners are often very selective on who they'll take, as they already have deendants, or are just generally biased. Then you run into problems when you need to see specialists about surgeries or things, like getting sterilized. Most specialists require a GP to sign off, but even if you HAVE a GP, chances are just as likely as not that they won't give a recommendation for something elective like that.

Yes, there are a shortage of doctors, but that has more to do with Canada not recognizing foreign certifications than anything else. If someone immigrates here, planning to become a doctor, and has a PhD in the field of medicine, they might end up in a janitorial position because they did not recieve that certification in Canada, even if they had a successful medical career in their country of origin.

Who goes to the hospital when they feel a bit ill or something that isn't life threatoning is wrong? Do you not have local GPs, physio's and things?
The only time I've been to the emergency room was when it was 4 am on boxing day, so no walk in clinics would have been open. I called the ontario health line thingy and they reccomended that I get to a doctor and see someone, since nothing else was open, I went to the hospital.

Canadial Healthcare horror#1

Elderly relative goes in for serious digestive problems. Ends up being fed through IV. While waiting for surgery IV vein gets infected and goes septic. Death ensues.


Canadian Healthcare story #2

Young relative has baby. Dies three days later from 'mystry illness'. A week later the cause of death is determined - septic infection from poorly executed epiziotomy. The infection is easily diagnosed and treated by any knowladgeable physician. Ours was not.

Canadian Healthcare story #3

Eldery relative (spouse of #1) goes in for digestive problems. Ends up being fed through IV. While waiting for surgery guess what...? Septic infection.

See a trend here?

Most of all, guess what happens because of the obvious malpractice! Nothing!!! Yay socialized healthcare!

Canadial Healthcare horror#1

Elderly relative goes in for serious digestive problems. Ends up being fed through IV. While waiting for surgery IV vein gets infected and goes septic. Death ensues.


Canadian Healthcare story #2

Young relative has baby. Dies three days later from 'mystry illness'. A week later the cause of death is determined - septic infection from poorly executed epiziotomy. The infection is easily diagnosed and treated by any knowladgeable physician. Ours was not.

Canadian Healthcare story #3

Eldery relative (spouse of #1) goes in for digestive problems. Ends up being fed through IV. While waiting for surgery guess what...? Septic infection.

See a trend here?

Most of all, guess what happens because of the obvious malpractice! Nothing!!! Yay socialized healthcare!


I wonder what the official position on the perscription of antibiotics is in Canada.
In the US, there is a general better safe than sorry aproach to perscribing antibiotics, which can lead to greater antibiotic resistance in bacteria but tends to prevent simple septic infections.

Good to hear about the state of Canadian healthcare from both its adherents and detractors. Because of the truly deplorable state of healthcare here in the USA, exploring alternatives to our largely for-profit system certainly prompts many to look to our neighbors to the north.

It certainly is a fact that many U.S. seniors flock to Canada for much more affordable prescription drugs. Also, administration and marketing by U.S. healthcare providers towers over other systems worldwide.

As one who is uninsured and was struck by a severe medical crisis in late 2003, at least I can thank my state's Charity Hospital system. Louisiana is unique amongst U.S. states with a network of ten state-owned hospitals and many more outpatient clinics. To be sure, because of major funding cuts in 2003 our system has suffered -- leading to many experiences reflected upon by others here in this forum thread, like lengthly visits and discontinued or non-existant urgent-care services.

Nevertheless Louisiana's Charity Hospital system receives close to 90% approval ratings by state residents, according to a recent poll conducted by the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper. This public health resource, though strained, covers over 800,000 uninsured Louisianians; not to mention tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients which many private physicians decline to treat (either because doctors aren't reinbursed enough or because they can have more lucrative practices with patients with insurance exclusively (not to mention a history of racial intolerence especially in Louisiana's rural areas). Additionally, the Charity Hospitals in New Orleans and Shreveport serve as "Level One Trauma Care Centers" with emergency staff for which private hospitals actively defer patients to.

We here in Louisiana certainly are having an active debate about the dominance of our state-run system. Currently the issues surrounding long-term care and nursing homes are topping legislative agendas for the coming session. As one of the few areas of government NOT constitutionally-protected as a mandate (the other being education!) healthcare and welfare for Louisiana's citizens remains in peril. Yet clearly devolving into a pure-private / for profit system will only leave us far worse off.

I am interested in learning more about the Canadian health system.
Any relevant websites I should know about please post AND telegram my nation directly if you please. I am involved in activism for a stronger and more universal healthcare system.

Thanks

The only time I've been to the emergency room was when it was 4 am on boxing day, so no walk in clinics would have been open. I called the ontario health line thingy and they reccomended that I get to a doctor and see someone, since nothing else was open, I went to the hospital.

Thats a fair point, I've been to the after hours a few times for various things. I've never had to wait more than half an hour, but then it probably wasn't their peak time and I don't live in canada.

Hahahah have you broken your arm yet?
If not how the hell would u know if they refuse it or not?
Whats written on their policy nd what they apply in actual fact are two different things. Theyll sell anything to get u to sign up with them but will make u sweat so u can get ur troubles covered.

My experience recently:
Actually just had a kid with this insurance. There was absolutely no problems. We even stayed in the hospital for four days. When it is customary for only two.

As far as no insurance coverage:
Yes, I know they don't refuse you. My brother is a Physicians Assistant in a hospital. He tells me this all the time. This happens on a regular basis. Which means Everyday. By law in the US at a county hospital you cannot be denied help.