Kelowna General Hospital

[gordon_as]

nothing is going to change anytime soon .

I do see things changing soon. Unfortuntely not for the better.
It would take me several pages to express from the top down what is wrong with the system that we have now.
An earlier post likened the system to a machine that is broken. Expanding on that theme , let me compare the health care system to automobiles.

25 years ago , you could buy a basic car at a reasonable price. Aside from seat belts , it had few safety features. It would have had a radio , and perhaps a cassette deck. When it got older , it would begin to rust away and eventually be sent to the scrap yard.
Now , the car you buy has advanced safety features , antilock brakes , all wheel drive , crumple zones , multiple air bags. It also likely has an advanced computer controled power plant that gives you tons of power with relatively good fuel econony. It has a full on entertainment system , perhaps gps maps , built in comunication systems , some even park themselves.

All of these things are an improvement over the old school cars . You expect these features because they are available and you probably would not accept a car that came without them.

Now , back to health care : Over the past 25 years the changes and improvements in medical care , diagnosis and treatment make the Automobile improvements look like kindergarten stuff. We have so much available to us , Cat scans , MRI 's , arthroscopic surgeries , hip and knee replacements , transplants , radiation and chemo therapy , new drugs , new treatments , shorter recovery times. etc. etc. etc. Procedures that would have put you in a ward for 2 weeks are now simple outpatient Day Surgery.
All of these things exist , therefore everybody expects and demands them. Something that is treatable now may likely have ended , or shortened significantly , your life 25 years ago.
Patients who would have spent their last days at home in the 70's now spend weeks in a hospital , many are fixed or cured , and live to return for other reasons a few weeks , months or years later. Others unfortunately spend years in long term care , being fed , bathed and toileted by nurses and care aides untill they simply pass from old age or illness. Famliy members visit once a week , but really bear little or none of the weight of caring for their elders.
Paitients that would have passed in the 70's are in the care homes , patients that should be in the care homes are in the medical wards of hospitals , patients that should be in the medical wards are in the surgical wards , and patients that should be in any of the above often end up staying in the Emergency dept far longer than what it was intended for. Fewer beds available in all of the above trickle down to longer waits in the chair outside of the emergency room

The population is getting older , the medical comunity is able to prolong life further , family members are less able to care for elderly loved ones but demand that the medical comunity does.

The cost of providing the care that people expect and demand is stagering , but it is not because (as some people argue) nurses are lazy and get paid too much. That's just a ridiculous and uninformed thought process. Try looking at the bigger picture and while you are at it try looking in the mirror too. I personally have utilized the Emergency department 3 times in the past 25 years. Once I pretty much removed a finger and part of my hand with a power saw , once I brought in my son with a severe head / brain injury , and once my 1 month old daughter who could not breath. I never had to pause at the front door , look up at the sign that says "EMERGENCY" and decide that , yes , I qualify.

[grammafreddy]

^^^^ and that's why I strongly support euthanasia (among many other reasons)

[gordon_as]

So , now a few of you might be wondering what part you can play in making things better instead of worse. In no particluar order : Next year , get that flu shot. Perhaps it's time to quit smoking. Smoking weed infront of your kids is not being the best role model. Slow down behind the wheel , wear your seatbelt and put that damn cellphone in the trunk. Salt , sugar and fat are not good meal choices. A little bit of exercise from time to time might be a good idea. Your knees and back are suposed to last a lifetime , take care of them. Believe it or not , something as basic as taking care of your teeth helps. Washing your hands is a good idea. When your kids are sick , school is not where they should spend the day. The Emergency room can't cure your flu , gravol and tylenol are available at any pharmacy . They put hand rails on your stairway for a reason. Ice and snow can be slipery. Red lights mean Stop. Get your kid a helmet before you get him a bike , skateboard , snowboard. Getting wasted every weekend could lead to trouble. Next time you are thinking about buying that $ 60,000 truck / suv , check your finances first and see if you have enough set aside to help pay for the care your parents are going to need when they are 90. I could go on and on , but you get the idea. I am , or have in the past been , guilty of some of the above so I am not trying to preach to you , just pointing out some very common problem areas.

If my own doing lands me in a hospital , I will admit responsibility for being there rather than blaming the system for not getting me in and out in a timely manner.

[gordon_as]

^^^^ and that's why I strongly support euthanasia (among many other reasons)

Although ultimately old age is terminal , I don't think it justifies euthanasia. A troubling question is at what age do we stop taking extraordinary measures to prolong , or improve the quality of , life.

[logman]

That's what your 65 bucks a month forever gets you. Treated like crap by over worked people who just want to go home. "Free health care". Healthy as a horse for 30+ years at 65 a month why would you think you are so special when dirtbag drug users are in need of help. Grab yourself a chair and a bag to puke in. KGH is worse than mash4077.

[grammafreddy]

Although ultimately old age is terminal , I don't think it justifies euthanasia. A troubling question is at what age do we stop taking extraordinary measures to prolong , or improve the quality of , life.

IMO, if it is my life and I am ready for it to end, I should have the right to have it done with dignity and grace rather than being kept alive and being useless (and expensive). I don't think doctors and hospitals should be penalized for it. It should be legal when it is a personal choice or written into a legal document for a PoA to put into effect on my behalf should I become unable to communicate.

[flamingfingers]

I have instructed my kids VERY carefully as to my end-of-life choices. They see it my way and I have a document to REMIND them and to pass along to my physicians/caregivers.

However, the specter of that poor woman in Abbotsford Hospital (I believe that is where she is) still being fed under court order, against her wishes and against the wishes of her family makes me truly shudder!! What a terrible thing to happen when there is absolutely no imminent prospect of release that death can give her or her family.

link:
http://disinherited.com/right-die-cases-proliferating/

[matai]

However, the specter of that poor woman in Abbotsford Hospital (I believe that is where she is) still being fed under court order, against her wishes and against the wishes of her family makes me truly shudder!! What a terrible thing to happen when there is absolutely no imminent prospect of release that death can give her or her family.

link:
http://disinherited.com/right-die-cases-proliferating/

If anyone does that to me I come back after my death to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

[grammafreddy]

Thanks for posting that link, FF. That sure makes me angry at the busy-bodies who think they should have the right to say what I can or can't do with my body and my choices.

[mexi cali]

There are far to many hypochondriacs who flee to the safety of the ER every day for what amounts to nothing more than the sniffles or gas.

ER is also inhabited by street folk who have no where else to go so they go there.

At least it's warm and they have a reasonable expectation of food so who can blame them?

Problem is, they take up much needed space from those who really need to be there.

No idea as to how to deal with these time and space wasters but it is what it is.

Actually I do but I can't state it here.

[mexi cali]

GF. I will pull your trigger if you will pull mine. You know what I mean.

I have a pact.

[grammafreddy]

^^^^ and that's why I strongly support euthanasia (among many other reasons)

Although ultimately old age is terminal , I don't think it justifies euthanasia. A troubling question is at what age do we stop taking extraordinary measures to prolong , or improve the quality of , life.

WE don't do anything. WE don't have the right to make those decisions over someone else's choice about what they want. Dying with dignity should not be illegal. It should be one of our basic freedoms.

[Treblehook]

"How has your experiences been with the emergency room and parking at the hospital... how are the doctors and if you have children ... do you trust the hospital we have?"

The above was the question and the topic of this thread. Somehow it is now dealing with the topic of euthanasia!!! I will go back to the original topic and say that my experiences with the KGH go back over a couple of decades and they have all been positive. The last occasion where we attended the ER was for an extreme life threatening event where a family member was suffering extreme anaphylactic shock. My family member's life was saved only through the expert care administered by the ER doctors on duty that night. Everyone in the ER that night was busy, yet their caring attitudes were more than evident. These are very busy people who are most times inundated with more work than they can handle. I sometimes wonder what are the expectations of people who attend this emergency facility?

[mr.bandaid]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/07/14/bc-first-confirmed-h1n1-influenza-death.html#socialcomments

cut backs on staff, shortages of doctors, not enough beds, not enough rooms... healthcare being cut when we have a lot going on...

alberta has the oil and gas?

bc has tourism, fruit, and lumber?

over populated and we are the worst province for health and poverty..

and noone has anything to say?

How about you go down the road for and hour and a bit and check out the service communities like Enderby are getting, head to the Kootaneys. We have it pretty damn good here.

[mexi cali]

Although ultimately old age is terminal , I don't think it justifies euthanasia. A troubling question is at what age do we stop taking extraordinary measures to prolong , or improve the quality of , life.

Simple, when quality of life can no longer be improved. This is the rub. we seem to believe that it is moral or ethical to keep the shell breathing and blinking for some strange reason.

"Thou shalt not kill".

This belief is steeped in religion which is funny because in virtually every other facet of day to day life, we are desperately trying to remove religion or at least to put it on a shelf in a closet where no one can see it and possibly be offended by it.

And yes, I too have digressed a bit and I promise to get back on track.