Although some aspects of this article ae true the writer should do some research . We know every province is different to some degree. Ontario pays for PSA tests, I know because I get one every year. On your own , a private lab in Ontario will charge you $25 for one . MRI clinics charge about $700 . Make an appointment, go have it done as soon as the same day, or next day and get the results. There are several in Ontario and Quebec. But , if you NEED an MRI or CT scan, you get one at a hospital . If you want it for insurance purposes or you think you need one and your doctor doesn't think so , go pay for it .
I know two seniors who both had knee replacements in the last year. Both waited about 9-10 weeks . I know a middle aged man who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis who had a hip , ball and socket , replaced in a little over 3 months waiting . You don't find surgeons that can do that kind of work , without screwing up something else , on street corners . If you want the best, so does everyone else, so wait . I know one who does 10 operations a week . How much more would you , as a patient, want him to be doing?
I know cancer patients head for a cancer treatment center in London, Hamilton, Sudbury, there are several , as soon as , especially if they need to recover from surgery first , they can . That recovery time is often left out as being part of waiting .
The one thing these wannabe expert writers forget to mention are all the tests required before surgery. Everything from blood and x-rays to heart stress . All require appointments and waiting.
Cataract surgery takes about 3 months . It would be less but the eye surgeons protect their turf and regular eye doctors are prohibited from operating ....You would too if you got 500 bucks for a 11 minute procedure.
Canadians routinely share such horror stories as:
Waiting on a gurney for 10 hours, only to have surgery canceled;
Waiting a year for an MRI;
Being denied emergency surgery on weekends due to staff shortages.
You would have to be a moron to believe Socialized medicine could compete with private delivery for quality and effectiveness.
Or a Liberal.