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Canada Health Care Killed Natasha?

Mike

Well-known member
By CORY FRANKLIN
Richardson: Stood far better chance in US.

Posted: 2:47 am
March 26, 2009

COULD actress Natasha Richardson's tragic death have been prevented if her skiing accident had occurred in America rather than Canada?

Canadian health care de-emphasizes widespread dissemination of technology like CT scanners and quick access to specialists like neurosurgeons. While all the facts of Richardson's medical care haven't been released, enough is known to pose questions with profound implications.

Richardson died of an epidural hematoma -- a bleeding artery between the skull and brain that compresses and ultimately causes fatal brain damage via pressure buildup. With prompt diagnosis by CT scan, and surgery to drain the blood, most patients survive.

Could Richardson have received this care? Where it happened in Canada, no. In many US resorts, yes.

Between noon and 1 p.m., Richardson sustained what appeared to be a trivial head injury while skiing at Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Within minutes, she was offered medical assistance but declined to be seen by paramedics.

But this delay is common in the early stages of epidural hematoma when patients have few symptoms -- and there is reason to believe her case wasn't beyond hope at that point.

About three hours after the accident, the actress was taken to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, 25 miles from the resort. Hospital spokesman Alain Paquette said she was conscious upon reaching the hospital about 4 p.m.

The initial paramedic assessment, travel time to the hospital and time she spent there was nearly two hours -- the crucial interval in this case. Survival rates for patients with epidural hematomas, conscious on arrival to a hospital, are good.

Richardson's evaluation required an immediate CT scan for diagnosis -- followed by either a complete removal of accumulated blood by a neurosurgeon or a procedure by a trauma surgeon or emergency physician to relieve the pressure and allow her to be transported.

But Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town of 9,000 people. Its hospital doesn't have specialized neurology or trauma services. It hasn't been reported whether the hospital has a CT scanner, but CT scanners are less common in Canada.

Compounding the problem, Quebec has no helicopter services to trauma centers in Montreal. Richardson was transferred by ambulance to Hospital du Sacre-Coeur, a trauma center 50 miles away in Montreal -- a further delay of over an hour.

Because she didn't arrive at a facility capable of treatment (with the diagnosis perhaps still unknown) until six hours after the injury, in all likelihood by that time the pressure buildup was fatal. The Montreal hospital could not have saved her life.

Her initial refusal of medical care accounted for only part of the delay. She was still conscious when seen at a hospital and her death might have been prevented if the hospital either had the resources to diagnose and institute temporizing therapy, or air transport had taken her quickly to Montreal.

What would have happened at a US ski resort? It obviously depends on the location and facts, but according to a colleague who has worked at two major Colorado ski resorts, the same distance from Denver as Mt. Tremblant is from Montreal, things would likely have proceeded differently.

Assuming Richardson initially declined medical care here as well, once she did present to caregivers that she was suffering from a possible head trauma, she would've been immediately transported by air, weather permitting, and arrived in Denver in less than an hour.

If this weren't possible, in both resorts she would've been seen within 15 minutes at a local facility with CT scanning and someone who could perform temporary drainage until transfer to a neurosurgeon was possible.

If she were conscious at 4 p.m., she'd most likely have been diagnosed and treated about that time, receiving care unavailable in the local Canadian hospital. She might've still died or suffered brain damage but her chances of surviving would have been much greater in the United States.

American medicine is often criticized for being too specialty-oriented, with hospitals "duplicating" too many services like CT scanners. This argument has merit, but those criticisms ignore cases where it is better to have resources and not need them than to need resources and not have them.

Cory Franklin is a physician who lives outside of Chicago. 2009 Chicago Tribune; distributed by Tribune Media Services.
 

Mike

Well-known member
kolanuraven said:
You can't get a bigger load of BS on here if you tried. :roll: :roll: :roll:

Then get in touch with Zer0's hometown newspaper and tell them. :lol:

See'in as how you are a doctor. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Between noon and 1 p.m., Richardson sustained what appeared to be a trivial head injury while skiing at Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Within minutes, she was offered medical assistance but declined to be seen by paramedics.



SHE declined treatment....it was her choice, and she would have made that choice no matter which country she was in at the time.
 

Mike

Well-known member
kolanuraven said:
Between noon and 1 p.m., Richardson sustained what appeared to be a trivial head injury while skiing at Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Within minutes, she was offered medical assistance but declined to be seen by paramedics.



SHE declined treatment....it was her choice, and she would have made that choice no matter which country she was in at the time.

About three hours after the accident, the actress was taken to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, 25 miles from the resort. Hospital spokesman Alain Paquette said she was conscious upon reaching the hospital about 4 p.m.

The initial paramedic assessment, travel time to the hospital and time she spent there was nearly two hours -- the crucial interval in this case. Survival rates for patients with epidural hematomas, conscious on arrival to a hospital, are good.
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
Good sensationalism there Mike{you should write for Fox} but as sad as Natasha's demise is unfortunately her original refusal{ In Canada you can't be made to go to hospital,"Right to Risk" its called} was probably the road that led to her death. This type of injury looks Ok at first then as the time goes on it gets progressively worse.I doute unless she had agreed right away anywhere to see a Dr. her outcome would have been much better. :(
 

aplusmnt

Well-known member
kolanuraven said:
Between noon and 1 p.m., Richardson sustained what appeared to be a trivial head injury while skiing at Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Within minutes, she was offered medical assistance but declined to be seen by paramedics.



SHE declined treatment....it was her choice, and she would have made that choice no matter which country she was in at the time.

You are looking at the time at the slopes by the paramedics not at the real story, once she asked for help and realized their was a problem. I will not evaluate her death because maybe her choice at initial denying help had a result.

But we can look at situation from the time she did want help.

I live in the rural of a town of 3,000 and I have had to call in for help in the middle of nowhere and use my car to light up a spot for a helicopter to land to take a woman to hospital before. The lack of helicopter service is the biggest problem here to me.

I am not sure but I doubt our small hospital has a cat scan, but I guarantee you they can have you at one in a matter of minutes via the use of 3 different helicopters at 3 different hospitals all three less than a 30 mile radius of our small town. I do not live outside a large city but we have 3 helicopters sitting on pads within the area that can be there to help in a matter of a few minutes.

My dad had Spinal Meningitis in a Miami ok hospital and they transported him in a matter of minutes to a larger hospital only 30 miles away for more specialized treatment.

Helicopter service should be a must in surrounding rural areas to get people the timely help they need!
 

jigs

Well-known member
the pathetic part of this story is that her being a celeb, it is getting all kinds of coverage. how many "average joes" have similar accidents each year, and no one hears about??

we all screw up, and we will all die....just cause you get 5 million bucks to act in a movie is no reason for your case to be more important than mine....

just like JFK Jr. and his plane crash....so what? many planes go down, but he got special treatment in the search and rescue after his crash.
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
jigs said:
the pathetic part of this story is that her being a celeb, it is getting all kinds of coverage. how many "average joes" have similar accidents each year, and no one hears about??

we all screw up, and we will all die....just cause you get 5 million bucks to act in a movie is no reason for your case to be more important than mine....

just like JFK Jr. and his plane crash....so what? many planes go down, but he got special treatment in the search and rescue after his crash.



http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/26/head.injury.emergency/index.html

Read this.....this sad death saved this little girl just the other day.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I guess none of you folks better ever go skiing at Big Sky--its 10 miles down the Mountain Road and then another 50 miles by ambulance over old Hwy 191 that follows along the Gallatin River to even get to a Hospital...

Rightwingernut thinking would be that no one should ever ski there again .... :roll:
 

nonothing

Well-known member
I could care less if America keeps its medical system the way it is..There are a handful of Americans that I care about and as long as they are all healthy and safe,I am fine with what ever care the rest of the country has.

What I am tired of is Tam and Mike coming on here and just bitching like two old women who do not get it enough...all they do is continiue to spout crap about anything and everything.....Maybe the two of them should just go to a place farway,Then do the deed with eachother a few times and then maybe they can remember what a smiles is....That is of course if Tam does not fall asleep listening to Mike brag about how good he is going to be... :wink:
 

Yanuck

Well-known member
nonothing said:
I could care less if America keeps its medical system the way it is..There are a handful of Americans that I care about and as long as they are all healthy and safe,I am fine with what ever care the rest of the country has.

What I am tired of is Tam and Mike coming on here and just bitching like two old women who do not get it enough...all they do is continiue to spout crap about anything and everything.....Maybe the two of them should just go to a place farway,Then do the deed with eachother a few times and then maybe they can remember what a smiles is....That is of course if Tam does not fall asleep listening to Mike brag about how good he is going to be... :wink:

you're a little ray of sunshine yourself there bud!! :wink:
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
nonothing said:
I could care less if America keeps its medical system the way it is..There are a handful of Americans that I care about and as long as they are all healthy and safe,I am fine with what ever care the rest of the country has.

What I am tired of is Tam and Mike coming on here and just bitching like two old women who do not get it enough...all they do is continiue to spout crap about anything and everything.....Maybe the two of them should just go to a place farway,Then do the deed with eachother a few times and then maybe they can remember what a smiles is....That is of course if Tam does not fall asleep listening to Mike brag about how good he is going to be... :wink:


:lol: :lol: :lol:
 

jigs

Well-known member
Mike is from the deep south, he ain't doinkin nothing that ain't related to him....Tam, come to Kansas, I will give you the best 47 seconds in your life.....54 seconds if you want fore play!
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
jigs said:
Mike is from the deep south, he ain't doinkin nothing that ain't related to him....Tam, come to Kansas, I will give you the best 47 seconds in your life.....54 seconds if you want fore play!

Sure you won't be too wore out after you receive your "Blow-up Reader doll?"
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
jigs said:
Mike is from the deep south, he ain't doinkin nothing that ain't related to him....Tam, come to Kansas, I will give you the best 47 seconds in your life.....54 seconds if you want fore play!
Well Yanuck....looks like your gonna be fairly safe in the drive deliverin the Mustang to AB..... :p You can easily sleep for 47 seconds..... :D
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Mrs.Greg said:
jigs said:
Mike is from the deep south, he ain't doinkin nothing that ain't related to him....Tam, come to Kansas, I will give you the best 47 seconds in your life.....54 seconds if you want fore play!
Well Yanuck....looks like your gonna be fairly safe in the drive deliverin the Mustang to AB..... :p You can easily sleep for 47 seconds..... :D



Whoa.....SLAP!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

jigs

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
jigs said:
Mike is from the deep south, he ain't doinkin nothing that ain't related to him....Tam, come to Kansas, I will give you the best 47 seconds in your life.....54 seconds if you want fore play!

Sure you won't be too wore out after you receive your "Blow-up Reader doll?"


a blow up doll like R2??? probably be mistaken as a hot air balloon!
 
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