Canada turns a blind eye to self-injury for ER care December 2nd, 2010 — 7:41pm

A few days ago, I woke up hearing the news that a Calgary man put his own life at risk in order to jump a medical queue. The gentleman, on a six-month wait list for gallbladder surgery, followed his doctor’s suggestion to induce a gallbladder attack by eating fatty foods – in this case potato skins – thereby receiving immediate emergency care to remove the gallbladder. Obviously, I’m not the only one raising their eyebrows at this story as it is all over the radio, Internet and TV. However, it does elicit a very angry response from me.

First and foremost, I was outraged the man’s doctor would suggest he put his life in danger to receive emergency medical care. What doctor would do this? Thinking about this I realized the doctor must have a great deal of faith in our emergency care to suggest it. Canadian emergency care is excellent, I will agree, having spent many hours with my children at a variety of different hospitals around town throughout the years.

Emergency care aside, I am appalled at the long wait lists for elective surgery in this country. Granted, there have been major problems with wait lists for many years, which is one of the reasons insurance, such as Medical Access Insurance, exist. Medical Access Insurance would take a client out of the public system to utilize the private system in a case like this one. If this man had this type of insurance (either as a company benefit or purchased individually), he would never have had to wait at all. As soon as his doctor had put him on a surgical wait list, all he need do is place a call to his insurance company; but this wasn’t the case. I can only assume that he wasn’t aware this type of insurance existed; which brings me to my final point, public awareness.

Our medical system is failing us, are we aware of this crisis? Most Canadians have become procrastinators, believing their beloved healthcare system can fix itself. Most turn a blind eye to cases as desperate as this one. Initially they are upset, but then after a few days they say things like, “Well he should have waited his turn just like everyone else, that’s how this system works.” Really? According to the news reports, the man, struggling to eat, had already lost 15 pounds in a month and had extremely painful cramping when he finally did manage to eat anything. Is it humane to make this man wait for six months, in pain and anguish, just to set an example of how our healthcare system works? Or is it time to take the bull by the horns and do something?

One of the suggested fixes for our system is for people to become proactive. We already watch what we eat, get fit and do the things that benefit our own health but we need to go further. Be proactive in looking at the current situation. Embrace programs which guarantee that when the time comes, we can get the health care we need when we need it most. No one need suffer, and no one should ever resort to desperate measures to jump a queue.

________________________________________________________________________________

Related Articles:

Calgary 660 AM Radio: Man induces gall bladder attack to jump medical queue; by Kevin Usselman
Calgary Sun: Surgery delays galling; by Michael Platt
CTV Calgary: Man induces gall bladder attack to get faster medical treatment