Posted on 09/11/2004 10:42:04 PM PDT by FairOpinion
WHITBY, Ontario, Sept. 9 - Esther Pacione needs a family doctor. At age 56 she is afflicted with severe ataxia, a neurological condition that causes her acute pain, choking and loss of consciousness. The walls of her home are scuffed from the times she fell and hit her head.
Her regular doctor suffered a stroke a year ago, and all the local doctors she has contacted say they cannot take new patients, so now Ms. Pacione goes to a walk-in clinic whenever she has an emergency. At the clinic, she waits hours and sees a different doctor and no one there is familiar with her medical history and what drugs she has been taking.
Ms. Pacione, a retired bookkeeper, said she would like to be at the table when Prime Minister Paul Martin meets with the provincial premiers on Monday for a three-day televised meeting to find ways to alleviate the lengthening waits for basic care in Canada.
"If you are not bleeding all over the place, you are put on the back burner," Ms. Pacione said, "unless of course you have money or know somebody."
The publicly financed health insurance system remains a prideful jewel for most Canadians, who see it as an expression of communal caring for the less fortunate and a striking contrast to an American health care system that leaves 45 million people uninsured. But polls indicate that public confidence in the system is eroding, although politicians remain reticent to urge increasing privatization of services.
During the recent closely fought election campaign, Mr. Martin promised to fix Canada's health care system "for a generation," focusing on trimming waiting times for diagnostic tests, cancer treatment and elective surgery like hip replacements. He is eager to use this televised gathering, billed as a health care summit meeting, to reverse the current view among many Canadians that his government is vacillating and may well fall next year.
But medical professionals and local officials say a major reason it may not be easy to address the problem of slow access to treatment is because doctors who do preliminary diagnostic work, refer patients to specialists and monitor the care of chronically ill people are less and less available - especially in small towns and rural areas.
A 2002 report from the Canadian Senate said that the actual number of family doctors had decreased only slightly in recent years but that the demands of an aging population were growing. Meanwhile, several recent studies have shown that family doctors are working shorter hours.
Young doctors are more likely to seek the most lucrative work in cities or go to the United States rather than start more modest practices in small towns because of growing debts when they leave medical school. That has set off an increasing competition among small towns to attract doctors.
Ms. Pacione's predicament is surprisingly common even in this upper-middle-class community on the north shore of Lake Ontario that seems to have everything going for it: immaculate lawns, a yacht marina, a downtown graced by vintage Victorian architecture and quaint parks and fruit markets.
Despite all its attractions, Whitby has trouble attracting enough doctors to take care of its residents. The town has only 63 family doctors to care for its 110,000 people (medical officials and local officials say at least 16 more are needed), and many residents drive 45 minutes or more to Toronto for basic medical care. Whitby is one of 136 communities with a total of a million people in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, that are not adequately served by family doctors, according to the Ontario Medical Association. That is up from 100 communities in 2000.
Whitby officials estimate that 22,000 people here have no doctor at all, forcing them to go to emergency rooms at overcrowded local hospitals to wait in line for up to four hours simply to refill a prescription, get a doctor's note for an employer or care for their flu symptoms.
"It's like winning the lottery to get in and see the doctor," Mayor Marcel Brunelle said. "This is a very wealthy country. What happened to bring the situation to this point?"
The government statistical agency estimates that more than 3.6 million Canadians, representing nearly 15 percent of the population, do not have a family doctor. That remains better than in the United States, where an estimated 20 percent do not have a regular doctor.
But there are signs that the doctor shortage in Canada is worsening. The Canadian Medical Association estimates that the country requires 2,500 medical graduates annually but is producing only 2,200 a year.
Mayor Brunelle formed a task force in June to recruit young doctors by introducing them to real estate agents and giving them advice on how to start new practices, and the town government is considering building a municipal clinic. The town of Peterborough is offering large monetary incentives and a grab bag of perks, including memberships at the Y.M.C.A. and cable television. Other municipalities offer moving expenses and the inside track on real estate next to golf courses.
But experts say those efforts may not be enough. "If the current trends continue we can anticipate a crisis," warned Joseph D'Cruz, a University of Toronto business school professor who specializes in health care. "People will actually find it impossible to get general medical services in their towns."
The doctor shortage is hurting the economies of small towns seeking to attract businesses. But it is also taxing the energies of the doctors who do live in those towns, as well as the resources of local hospitals - and patients often complain that their treatment is rushed.
Administrators at the nearby Lakeridge Health Oshawa, an acute care hospital, estimated that more than 30 percent of the patients who went to the emergency ward would go to a family doctor instead if they could do so quickly. It is a burden on the hospital's staff, space and financial resources.
One patient who went to the emergency ward recently, Crystal Bentley, 22, complained of cysts behind her ears. She said she would prefer to see her family doctor but would have to wait in his office for hours. She said she went to the hospital because the emergency room was faster.
"Seeing a doctor and not having to pay is phenomenal," she said, "but here I am taking up emergency time from doctors. I really do wish I could see my family doctor instead of coming here and talking to a total stranger."
Socialist ANYTHING doesn't work!
But the Dems are still trying to socialize and thereby destroy medical care in the US, which right now is the best in the world.
But, but, but... I just saw a couple of Democrat talking heads on TV yesterday bragging about what a great health care system Canada has. How could they be wrong?
Why didn't Clinton have his heart surgery there? They could "prove" how "great" the system is-- he could have waited 40 days like everyone other Canuck for the surgery!!
LOL!
Well, you know that Democrats would never lie. ;)
Big Ping
Uh, they could privatize it, and keep fools like Edwards out of the country... just a thought...
"Young doctors are more likely to seek the most lucrative work in cities or go to the United States "
The same US, that the Canadians hate and keep badmouthing.
We shouldn't let them in.
>>The same US, that the Canadians hate and keep badmouthing.<<
Boy, you got THAT right! We were up there about two mths ago and those people were downright smug and haughty. Yeah, maybe they get their lame socialized medicine, but they pay sky-high prices for everything else, including $5.00 a gallon for gasoline!
What a nasty bunch of prigs.
IF you think that health care is expensive now, just wait until it's free!
I'm a Canadian, and I can attest to all the problems with universal health care up here. Long line-ups for any kind of substantive care, out of date medical equipment (because we can't afford to buy the cutting edge stuff), understaffed hospitals, not enough beds, etc., etc.
Believe me, you don't want any part of it. In Canada, we have a saying that pretty much sums it all up: Universal health care is great, as long as you never need to use it.
In most instances, it is a LOT more than 40 days. I know people who are on waiting lists for over a year to have knees, hips replaced. Glaucoma treatment over a year and a half. People are going blind in the meantime.
canada has decided to align itself with europe and against us...their health care system isn't the only thing wrong up there.
bttt
At least once a year my wife's Canadian half sister trecks down to our neck of the woods to have some medical procedure she would have to wait a year or two to get in Canada. I'd feel sorry for her but every time she visits I have to hear how wonderful the Canadian health care system is for the "little people." Drives me absolutely insane. She is a classic liberal.
But wouldn't the solution just be to increase the taxes?(/Lib talking point)
Well, this is the care Kerry wants us to have.
THERE are 'idiots,' then there are idiots (KerryCare)
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