http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/wait-time-reality-fails-patients-124958999.html
Max's daughter Selma was horrified that her elderly father was going to have to wait 9 months or more to find out if he needed a pacemaker.
"Last week, Health Minister Theresa Oswald boasted of the "A" score the province had been given from a coalition of professional medical associations for the patient wait times associated with elective open-heart surgery.
But the assessment by the Wait Time Alliance only measures the period of time a patient waits for a procedure -- after -- a medical specialist makes a decision on what procedure needs to be done until the procedure is completed.
Based on that definition, the clock hasn't even begun ticking for Max Pressman..."Selma threatened to fly him to Calgary for a simple 15 minute procedure. Lo and behold, an appointment for an echocardiogram suddenly became available the next day.
Lucky it wasn't an emergency, I thought with great sarcasm.
Well,now another person I know had dealings with our health care system this week- and it was an emergency, for his wife.
Jeff Doyle has just sent an email to Theresa Oswald, Premier Greg Selinger, and Conservative health critic Myrna Driedger about it.
A Red River College graduate and frequent guest on our radio show, he asked for this email to be published on our TGCTS blog to get their ordeal at the Concordia Hospital ER, and his challenge to the NDP government and PC opposition, out in the open.
" I am writing this in the hopes of receiving some measure of feedback from the parties responsible for causing delays of this magnitude to occur in today's Canadian Health Care system.
In addition to forwarding this message to my contacts within the local media, the social media and - of course - to my Distinguished Members of Parliament, I am forwarding this more directly to my friends and family outside of Manitoba.
It is my hope that information of this nature will - if nothing else - shame the people responsible for allowing situations like this to occur, and make them think twice before talking about how "well maintained and wonderful the Health Care System in Manitoba" is.
However, if history continues to be a roadmap for the future - I am doubtful.
On Monday morning, after a long night helping my wife deal with a chronic abdominal and digestive issue we decided to venture into the Concordia Hospital ER.
Upon our arrival at 8 AM I was initially impressed with the new layout and set up in the admittance area. We were quickly signed in, spoken to the Admittance Nurse and then were asked to begin our wait.
Given my wife's inability to sleep the night before, we took advantage of the "Quiet Family Room's" couches in order to let her attempt to rest while we waited.
Waiting in an ER is nothing new of course. ER's across North America are often completely backed up given demand being greater than availability. This is all completely understandable. And before we go any further I want this made clear on the record that every medical staff member we dealt with at Concordia was efficient, professional and compassionate.
When we arrived in the ER there were only 4 other people ahead of us. At no point in time while we waited did I notice any Ambulance Arrivals with life or death immediate attention required patients. This is not to diminish the needs of the other people waiting (or the ones already being attended to of course) however, it seemed we were all in the same boat.
After 90 minutes (930AM) and 2 more dry heaving, uncontrollable vomiting incidents later a medical aide came to us and took a blood sample. 2 more patients arrived by this time.
At 10 AM a sharply dressed lady entered the Quiet Room where my wife was resting and informed us "You'll have to move out of here, we do a daily briefing in this room." After my moment of shock passed, I questioned why they would hold a meeting in the ER Waiting Room when there must be somewhere else in the entire hospital better equipped for such a task, I received no answer other than "We need this room, please go."
Swallowing my burgeoning rage, we complied.
After moving my car 2 more times to avoid being ticketed while waiting, and several more convulsions from my wife we were finally Triaged by noon.
Yes, halfway through a standard working day, my wife was Triaged.
By 1245, a medical student came in and began an analysis. At this time I asked if this type of delay is normal, and was sadly informed that it was.
Apparently, Concordia Hospital only has 1 Doctor working the entire ER. So, an excessive delay is status quo.
Now eventually the doctor came by, diagnosed my wife and provided assistance. All of that is fine. She was released at 4PM (which given the time of treatment - 145pm) isn't unreasonable. Again, every medical staff member we dealt with was exceedingly professional and helpful.
However, I find it completely unacceptable to have this kind of a delay for ANY patient. I know the excuses will always be the same - "We are understaffed, there was a high volume, it was a long weekend, etc etc etc". But frankly those excuses hold no water in today's society.
In my wife's case, her situation is painful and very upsetting but thankfully it wasn't life threatening. But how would anyone know that, given the evidence in the waiting room?
How could anyone know that her appendix wasn't on the verge of bursting, or something more significant along that line. In instances like those, a 4 hour wait is a matter of life or death. This is why people go to the ER, because they are dealing with an emergency! If it wasn't a big deal, people would book appointments with their Family MD's and be obliged to wait.
This very reason alone to me suggests that there needs to be an even greater emphasis put on staffing for Emergency Rooms all across the Province.
And yet we see where the Province places their Health Care priorities every day.
The WRHA has the funding and staffing to build a massive new building downtown for their bureaucratic staff - who admittedly need a place to work - but can't make sure to have enough doctor's in all the ER's in the city to be able to handle more patients as they come in?
Cancer Patients are driving down to the Mayo Clinic in the States, paying exorbitant fees in extra insurance in order to do so because they can't get access to proper treatment in their home country in a timely fashion?
11 month waits for surgeries are becoming commonplace despite what the PR Spinners would have you believe.
Several years ago I defended the Health Care system publicly after the UFC Champion Brock Lesnar compared to the Brandon Regional Health Authority to a Third World Country. And while clearly, we aren't quite at that level the facts remain that everything isn't as streamlined in our Health Care system as it should be.
So I ask this of you. Especially going into a pivotal Provincial Election this fall - What do YOU Propose to Do in order to make ER wait times more acceptable? And HOW do you plan to make this happen.
Your constituents are sick of waiting.
************
* Speaking about the new WRHA building, blogger Graham Hnatiuk explains how the geographically-challenged Winnipeg Free Press may have already "relocated" it to the North End, in a great piece about how downtown revitalization stories are reported, or "Someone needs to put a map up in that Winnipeg Free Press Cafe."
http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2011/07/rename-wfp-business-section.html.
* In the real North End, the just-demolished Manitoba Uphostery Building on Selkirk, that fell in value by 2/3rds in the 90's and was eventually declared derelict, has a fascinating history as compiled by the blogger Chris Cassidy:
http://westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2011/07/selkirk-avenue-loses-another-tooth.html
* And rounding out the troika of blog posts, we venture a little deeper into the North End where Rae Butcher asks:
"Could you imagine if we started calling the Police every time we heard fireworks go off? And what would the Police tell us? Do you think they would sent a cruiser car out to investigate? I don't. I think fireworks are allowed in the North End. I think they are the norm in the North End. Just like everything else that is illegal or unacceptable in other parts of town.
How many issues are there in the North End that are now the norm, now acceptable, and now just part of our daily lives, that would be unacceptable in any other part of the City?
How many neighbourhoods would put up with the fireworks, illegal dumping, unkempt yards, parties to all hours of the night, dogs barking endlessly in just about every yard, feral cats roaming the neighbourhood, open liquour walking down the street, blatant drug deals, people yelling at the top of their lungs in front of their friends house to "let them in" ...... The list goes on and on.
And why are these things allowed to continue here?"
http://adayinthehood.blogspot.com/2011/07/fireworks-light-up-skies-on-canada-day.html
