Is our health care system broken?

[Silverstarqueen]

When parents do not get adequate treatment for a serious illness in their child, they can end up in court for failure to provide adequate care. What happens when our hospitals do the same? Tylenol, to treat pneumonia in a toddler?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3989511

[Relentless]

This will likely get swept under the carpet.
Our Health Minister better get to the bottom of it, and make sure someone gets fired, this is not acceptable practice!
This is negligence to patients.
An unnecessary death, I can't imagine how the family feels.

[driveangry]

This isn't the only one,,,,,

Yesterday the mother of a friend was sent home from the hospital and died at home an hour later, in Surrey.

This isn't new, happens a lot, not always in death.

Brother -in-law went into our towns little ER. The doctors sent him to Penticton via ambulance, they sent him home. A little while later ended up back in our little ER, this time the doctor went along with him to Penticton.

[Fancy]

The family believes she was suffering from pneumonia, but the official cause of death has yet to be determined.

I was under the impression the diagnosis was pneumonia from the news last night but I would have thought a doctor in emergency would have been able to make that determination.

Balraj said their family doctor received X-rays confirming that the child had a severe case of pneumonia that caused further infections.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/three-year ... -1.3291672
I've been told if my child shows even the slightest change for the worse to immediately go to emergency. Children don't always show how sick they really are. I can't imagine the helplessness and horror of it all. Poor family.

[Silverstarqueen]

A doctor in the ER can indeed order an xray for the child, and diagnose Pneumonia, othey symptoms considered like fever, respiratory distress, etc.
But if the doctor doesn't order an xray, and just decides the child has a bad cold, then they will miss the diagnosis.
This sort of thing does happen far more often than we are aware.
I hope the family in Surrey mentioned above, will also contact the news.
Without shining a light on this, hospitals would rather downplay this sort of thing.

Hospitals are discharging people everyday who have no business going home. I had a family member being discharged once, and I insisted on a final checkup because to me he didn't look good enough to go home.
While the nurse was doing the final blood pressure check, he was crashing right in front of us, which I could plainly see, and I was the one who had to tell the nurse to call for help. I am pretty sure someone knew he was not ready for discharge, but they wanted to kick him out so he would die "not on their watch". This is b.s.

[Silverstarqueen]

Another example, same hospital, within several days of the little girl's death. When the hospital spokesperson came on TV, I wanted to slap him. "Blah, blah, just said enough to cover his butt".

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3998729

[summerlandab]

Our health system is definitely broken. The hospital in Kamloops is running at 150% of capacity. The
Private rooms have two stretchers in them and patients share a call bell. They don't have the staff to take care of the patients. The staff they do have are run off their feet just doing the minimum for the patients assigned to them. Staff burn out and leave. It all comes down to dollars. We don't have health care, we have wealth care. If it weren't for fund raisers, donations and volunteers the hospital's wouldn't have most of the equipment they use. The government is supposed to fund this with the premiums we pay. The best health insurance we can give ourselves is to stay away from our hospital's.

[Silverstarqueen]

THis has to stop. Now they are blaiming the victim for his own death. Discharged him with diagnosis of "dehydration". My mom was almost discharged with "constipation", when she clearly had an intestinal obstruction. They only treated her because family members refused to take her home, and spent days trying to convince the doctors to save her life.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3300563/kris- ... paign=2014

[Silverstarqueen]

And the doctors and nurses, I am thinking they have a better plan than we do.

[binky11]

I have been suffering for 9 months with rectal pressure and pain. Doctor has done all he can do, all tests come back negative. Says the only one that can maybe help me now is a physio therapist that charges $100.00 a pop. Seems a lot of physio therapist don't take MSP anymore. When your on disibility trying to live on under $1,000 a month, you can't afford that. This is the first time ever I am being denied treatment due to cost. Never came across this in Canada before. Very discouraging.

[Silverstarqueen]

I have used a physiotherapist on a few occasions over the years, I think they are well worth it for select problems. Even one session can make a huge difference. I recently had to see one because my knee had become so bad it was really interfering with my mobility, put off seeing physio because of the cost. One session, much much improved. I should have gone a lot sooner, could have saved myself months of hobbling around making things worse. I think some limited coverage for physio should be in our medical coverage, because these people are keeping folks out of the doctors offices, and even preventing or reducing reliance on opiod painkillers, and still allowing me to get some basic needed exercise. In my case, probably preventing a fall or damage to the joint in the future.

[Silverstarqueen]

85 year old man falls down stairs and is sent home from ER with broken neck and skull fracture, dies soon after.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3480017/alder ... ror-story/

[What_the]

Take the politics out of health care and that will mostly solve the problem. My own doctor ran for office because sick of politics.

But good luck.
The monstrous budgets that people's pension depend on dictates more of the same.

I pay taxes for one thing first and foremost, health care for my family and me, and my neighbours. Everything else in a sense can go *bleep* themselves. Until everyone is on board with that the system is what it is... and the system has saved my life a few times..at least life and limb

[jimmy4321]

While there are always things that need improving both my parents had major health issues lately and things couldn't have gone smoother, also plenty of follow up in a timely manner.
I'm one that believes we need to maintain our publicly funded health care system at all cost.

[Silverstarqueen]

With my Dad, the health care was pretty good, as long as we the family got him to the doc or hospital when he was ill, his doctor was pitching for him thru thick and thin.
Mom was a different story, some major blunders with her health care, which actually ended up costing the system way more to treat her in the long run, costs which didn't need to happen if there had been adequate long term care places for those who don't really belong in hospital. But there was also an intestinal obstruction which they were trying to pass off as "constipation". I don't know what was at the root of the problems with her care.
Another close relative of mine got really poor care, I think his doctor was completely out to lunch on that one.
It isn't going to get any better, there are only going to be more seriously ill people as the boomers age out, and fewer doctors and nurses to look after them. So more and more elderly will be discharged from ER's with life threatening conditions, as in the case of that poor gentleman who fell down stairs and was sent home with tylenol recommended for broken vertebrae, nose, and skull fracture. IF the hospital wanted to just let him die, they should have a) just said so and b) at least given him morphine so he didn't have to die in such pain and suffering. A vet would not even have given such poor care to a dog. His family is devastated naturally.