On January 2, 2006, Lindsay McCreith was suffering seizures. After waiting 7 hours in emergency, a CT scan showed a brain tumor. McCreith was told he’d have to wait 4.5 months for an MRI scan to find out if the tumour was malignant. That’s when he went across the border and got an MRI in Buffalo. The MRI revealed the brain tumor was, indeed, malignant.
Mr. McCreith returned to Canada with the MRI results and was told he’d have to wait 3 months for surgery despite knowing his brain tumour was malignant. He returned to Buffalo and had the surgery that may have saved his life.
As sad as Mr. McCreith’s story is, it’s nothing unusual in Canada – too many people are in his predicament. When I first heard about the Canadian medical care system, I thought it was too good to be true. And it was… The system is costly, bureaucratic, completely unfocused on the patient AND deprives us of our individual right to contract with whoever we please because govt bureaucracies decide how our money is to be spent!
Kartik,
I agree with you. It’s up to us, as patients, to usher in a new health care system that promotes and protects the medical freedoms of patients and doctors. Let’s get started!
Unlikely to happen anytime soon, given how the system’s associated with national pride!