Canadian Health Care

[firegrrl]

My mum has been doing an amazing job at advocating for Chuck, but it doesn't come naturally to her. She is quiet, shy, afraid of authority, and easily flustered. She forgets what she wants to ask, especially in the face of an antagonistic authority figure whose agenda is to keep things from her or to rush through the meeting

Comments

[wyliekat]

I can't even tell you how much I wish you'd been in the room when I had my drive-by doctoring a few weeks back.

[firegrrl]

Yeah, it's really disgusting how badly we are treated by the medical profession. I see it at work every day. Brian thinks that we need freelance rights advisors that people can get help from when they go to the ER or are admitted to hospital. But the trouble is, nobody knows that they need one until it's happened to them.

[wyliekat]

Well, exactly. YOu have no idea when you're going to get a real doctor and when you're going to get an arse. The solution of course is that we should learn to be our own advocates. If only it were that easy, hey?

[firegrrl]

But that's exactly what we need to do. We need to know and understand the relevant legislation, so that we know what our rights are! No one in the medical profession is going to tell you what you have a right to. We really need to protect ourselves. Each province has its own legislation with regard to our health information, health care consent, substitute decision-making, and mental health law. I know Ontario's legislation inside out, but I would be absolutely clueless in Manitoba. The problem is, most people are clueless about even their own province's legislation -- and the reason that the legislation is there, is to protect us! If we don't know about it, it doesn't work for us.

Sorry, I can rant on and on about this. It's my hobby horse, I guess.

[ssilverfish]

Gah. Sounds like Nurse Ratched there is in need of an attitude adjustment. People without compassion should stay the hell out of the medical health care profession. Unfortunately, we sometimes find that here in the US, too, though I've encountered it less with nurses and doctors and more with the lower-paid nurse tech folks. My mother-in-law had an awful time finding decent people for in-home care for my father-in-law when he was dying.

I'm so, so very sorry to hear about Chuck, too. I'm way late in responding to all this, I know, but I'm sending my thoughts your family's way. This has got to be so tough on your mum. :(

[firegrrl]

It is tough. And it's such a drawn-out process. He's been home since then, and then spent last week back in hospital with pneumonia, and now he's home again. It's hard on him and my mum. Thanks so much for your kind thoughts.

[tnsechick]

I'm so sorry you guys are going through all that. Could this attitude be regional? I have a good friend in Hallifax who raves about their good healthcare. Anyway, that's so ridiculous. As much as US healthcare sucks, I believe here our home respite care people could have intervened and gotten somewhere with the ER staff on your behalf. Sheesh.