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Doctor Shortage Cripples Free Health Care

Mike

Well-known member
Doctor shortage cripples Canada's free health care
by Clifford Krauss
September 18, 2004 Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune





WHITBY, ONTARIO -- 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 has fallen 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 Pacione, a retired bookkeeper, goes to a walk-in clinic whenever she has an emergency. At the clinic, she waits hours and sees a different doctor each time, and no one there is familiar with her medical history and what drugs she has been taking.

"If you are not bleeding all over the place, you are put on the back burner," 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 a U.S. health-care system that leaves 45 million people uninsured. But polls indicate that public confidence in Canada's system is eroding, although politicians remain reticent to urge increasing privatization of services.

During the recent closely fought election campaign, Prime Minister Paul 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 such as hip replacements. 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.

Pacione's predicament is surprisingly common, even in her upper-middle-class community on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

Whitby 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, encompassing 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 there have no doctor at all, forcing them to go to emergency rooms at overcrowded local hospitals to wait in line for as long as 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?"

Shortage worsening

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 2,200 a year.

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 YMCA 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 room 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 room 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."
 

Mike

Well-known member
don said:
must be a real crisis if you only had to go back four and a half years to find that one.

That was the point in posting that one.

Just goes to show that it didn't just start recently............. :roll:

There's 186,000 hits when you google "Canada Doctor Shortage". :lol:
 

Mike

Well-known member
don said:
so how many americans are suffering from a doctor shortage because they can't afford one?

Don't know of any. How's about Hospital shortage? :lol:

Shortage of hospital beds, cancelled surgeries common across Canada
Last Updated: Friday, January 26, 2007 | 5:29 PM ET
CBC News
Surgeries in at least two of Canada's largest hospitals have been cancelled because of bed shortages and other problems that are affecting health-care facilities across the country, administrators say.

Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre cancelled 30 surgeries in December, and more than one-third of the cancellations involved cancer operations.

In an e-mail to staff on Thursday, an administrator at the Ottawa Hospital said the packed emergency department is forcing the "extreme" measure of cancelling surgeries at the last minute.

An overflowing emergency department is among the most visible consequences of a hurting system, according to many doctors and hospital administrators.

They say there is no single reason, although the problem stems in part because of an ongoing lack of beds in nursing homes — which means patients end up using hospital beds — on top of higher demand from flu season.

If people do not leave hospital according to schedule then the holdup reverberates, said Bob Lester, a vice-president at Sunnybrook.

"Only two or three failed discharges can throw our whole scheduling into a mess," said Lester. "It used to be not a problem. It is now enough that we need to look at whether or not we have to cancel surgeries. That's how close we are to capacity."

The capacity issue crops up almost everywhere, said Sharon Shlozberg-Gray, the president of the Canadian Healthcare Association, a federation that represents hospitals across Canada.

"Everyone is trying to be very efficient, have just the right number of beds and resources that we need … averaging through out the year, but it really leaves little flexibility."

The association and hospital administrators agree money will help but won't solve the problems. Adding more beds in nursing and rehabilitation facilities will also make a difference, but won't be a magic solution because the country-wide shortage of nurses means there wouldn't be enough people to provide care.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
don said:
so how many americans are suffering from a doctor shortage because they can't afford one?

All the idiots have to do is go to the emergency room. Doesn't matter if it's major or just a few sneezes.....they MUST treat you. No questions asked.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
TexasBred said:
don said:
so how many americans are suffering from a doctor shortage because they can't afford one?

All the idiots have to do is go to the emergency room. Doesn't matter if it's major or just a few sneezes.....they MUST treat you. No questions asked.

One of the reasons the biggest shortage in doctors, besides rural doctors, is ER Doctors.....Our area is short both- so fly in rent-a-docs to cover ER for week or two week stretches- or weekends (at a very big cost)...
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
8 Dr's 3 hospitals in our small county,just walked into clinic this am and was in Dr's office within 15 minutes,damn we're hurtin.... :roll:
 

Tam

Well-known member
Just before Christmas BMR's dad had to call an ambulance for his mom the ambulance had to come 35 miles out to the ranch but couldn't take her back to the hospital it came from because there was no Docter there. They had to take her 60 miles in the opposite direction to see a doctor she had never seen before. When she got there she had to stay and had to be send to another hospital in Moose Jaw which is 135 miles from home to get a CT scan to find out she had had a small stoke. She was then sent back to the first hospital and released to go home. She has been having spells ever since so they made an appointment to have her checked out again, a couple weeks ago. The Doctor she had the appointment that had seen her in the first hospital, had to call and canceled the appointment as he had to go out with the Ambulance. They rescheduled the appointment to last week and when BMR drove them up for the appointment they got there but it wasn't the docter she had seen before it was a replacement temp Doctor. She felt it was a waste of time and energy to make the trip. Is that what she should have had to go through at her age? This is not the first time we have called the local hospital and there was no doctor. We had an sledding accident with our kids when they were young and no docter. We had to call the hospital across the line to get advice in what to do. The scary part is there is a huge power plant and coal mine and the employees have questionable access to a doctor if there is an emergency at either one. Count your lucky have what you got Mrs. Greg because we are not all so lucky.
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
Your right Tam we are VERY lucky,our countys very proactive,searching for and keeping our Dr's. Thats the reason I point out what I do.....you post all the Doom & Gloom about our healthcare I post what I see and work. Its not all perfect out there,my daughter who's just going into her 8 month goes to a walk in clinic for her appointments,Dr's in Red deer won't take on new patients,but the clinic and the Dr's are excellent and she's been seeing 2 Dr's which come delivery time isn't all bad.Last week she had been feeling really sick,and hadn't felt the baby move all day,went into emerg. they took her up and hooked her up to the fetal monitor for half an hour,treated her and her fiance awesome.

There's good ,there's bad in "EVERY" system,nothings perfect but complaining about something doesn't usually bite someone in the butt until its no longer there.

We also are very close to a mine and power plant,the mine has its own rescue team,trained in just about everything,gregs been a part of that team for 25 yrs,and it has its own ambulance,as does the power plant and they also have an on site rescue team.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Well Tam- if it had happened just south of the border- up until a couple of years ago- they'd have had to haul her to Williston or Glasgow for a CAT SCAN-- and fly to Billings if a neuro specialist was necessary....They still do many times, because there are not enough personnel to cover all hours in many of these rural areas-- both sides the border.....

Interestingly- the local hospital- and local radiologist and many other local rural hospitals have contracts with Australian hospitals- where they e-mail the scans, ultrasounds, and X-Rays to and have them "read" by Australian Radiologists/Specialists during non office hours time- since their hospitals are open and specialists working during the hours ours are closed.....

This is another area where the current Administrations proposed expansion of broadband nationwide- offers great opportunities.....
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Because of living rural a 60 mile drive to a doctor was what we had to do from the ranch. The local hospital within that distance also had to send people on for several tests. X-rays, blood work, and such they do. I guess I always thought it was just lucky to have the little one within that distance. The hospital struggles to find doctors that want to come to the community to live when bigger towns not only have higher wages but also more to do. My hope is that some of the rural health opportunities down here help ensure doctors for the small town hospitals for years to come.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Because of living rural a 60 mile drive to a doctor was what we had to do from the ranch. The local hospital within that distance also had to send people on for several tests. X-rays, blood work, and such they do. I guess I always thought it was just lucky to have the little one within that distance. The hospital struggles to find doctors that want to come to the community to live when bigger towns not only have higher wages but also more to do. My hope is that some of the rural health opportunities down here help ensure doctors for the small town hospitals for years to come.

I think that's the problem in many rural areas, just as OT mentioned about Montana. Wish we could trade 10 lawyes for one good doctor around the world. That would solve a couple of problems.
 

Tam

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Well Tam- if it had happened just south of the border- up until a couple of years ago- they'd have had to haul her to Williston or Glasgow for a CAT SCAN-- and fly to Billings if a neuro specialist was necessary....They still do many times, because there are not enough personnel to cover all hours in many of these rural areas-- both sides the border.....

Interestingly- the local hospital- and local radiologist and many other local rural hospitals have contracts with Australian hospitals- where they e-mail the scans, ultrasounds, and X-Rays to and have them "read" by Australian Radiologists/Specialists during non office hours time- since their hospitals are open and specialists working during the hours ours are closed.....

This is another area where the current Administrations proposed expansion of broadband nationwide- offers great opportunities.....

If it had happen just south of the border she could had the CT scan in Plentywood by my sister in law Oldtimer. My dad had a stoke in 1998 and he had two CT Scans within an hour of hitting the Plentywood hospital.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Tam said:
Oldtimer said:
Well Tam- if it had happened just south of the border- up until a couple of years ago- they'd have had to haul her to Williston or Glasgow for a CAT SCAN-- and fly to Billings if a neuro specialist was necessary....They still do many times, because there are not enough personnel to cover all hours in many of these rural areas-- both sides the border.....

Interestingly- the local hospital- and local radiologist and many other local rural hospitals have contracts with Australian hospitals- where they e-mail the scans, ultrasounds, and X-Rays to and have them "read" by Australian Radiologists/Specialists during non office hours time- since their hospitals are open and specialists working during the hours ours are closed.....

This is another area where the current Administrations proposed expansion of broadband nationwide- offers great opportunities.....

If it had happen just south of the border she could had the CT scan in Plentywood by my sister in law Oldtimer. My dad had a stoke in 1998 and he had two CT Scans within an hour of hitting the Plentywood hospital.

Like I said Tam- up until a couple years ago...I'm aware Plentywood now has a CT scanner--but for many years they had to come here or go to Williston-- and for sometime my wife used to take her machines on the road to Plentywood and Scobey-ultrasound and CT- until the hospital decided it wasn't worth bouncing a half million dollars worth of equipment in the back of a truck all the time....
Which Radiologist do they use to read their images :???:
 
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