So, my father-in-law has his hip pop out of socket yesterday, and he fell down the stairs.
FOUR HOURS they waited to have xrays done, to see what was going on. FOUR HOURS of who knows how much pain and agony. Turns out, nothing is broken (whew! he's a big guy!). So they have him all doped up, and put humpty dumpty back together again. Ok fine.
They speak with the doctor. He tells them that since it happened, its going to happen again, and they may have to just replace his hip. They're going to talk to him tomorrow (today) about everything.
Thats around 7pm-ish or so when my wife calls.
Fast-forward to TODAY.. Father in law is in good spirits, still doped up and in la-la land, be he isn't leaving the hospital for a while.
They get to the hospital around 8:30ish to wait for the doctor.
THEY'RE STILL WAITING TO SEE THE DOCTOR. IT IS NOW 3PM.
What the hell is going on with your healthcare system? Jesus f***ing Christ.
I'm GLAD I pay $160/month out of my pocket for my healthcare, which covers EVERYTHING, and know that I'll be serviced IMMEDIATELY, no matter what I need fixed. I know that if this happens to me down there, I'll be taken from the ambulance directly to someone who can help me.
Between what oldeguy is having to deal with with his wife, and now this, I wonder if I can keep paying for the insurance down here when I move up there, because frankly, this is scaring me.
I know how you feel. Sorta.
My healthcard apparently expired last summer, and because we had moved twice in 4 years (within the validity date), they lost track of us. I never got my renewal slip and they invalidated my OHIP card (that my exorbitant taxes pay into without fail with each paycheque). Great. I went to get my back looked at a week ago, they're like, "Oh, Adam your healthcard has been cancelled."
:o
So I finally get time at lunch to go today to get my health card re-enabled.
It's nice of them to finally tell me that when we move, we're supposed to brave yet another gov't lineup for who knows how long to tell them we've moved. You don't really need to, but if you miss that renewal form? Get this... THEY ASSUME YOU NO LONGER LIVE IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO.
C'mon, laugh. I'm still trying to.
I then ask why they can't just reference my driver's license like the rest of the world, seeing as they're both provincial ministries and all. No dice, privacy laws and all that.
Guess what a "nice" email my MPP will be receiving next week, eh? :rolleyes:
</rant>
All our best to your father-in-law for a speedy solution and recovery, Todd.
you get what you pay for
free healthcare= crappy service. the saddest part is the fact we do pay arm and a leg for healthcare in taxes.
I wish this place was like US. you pay, but then as you said you get the freaking service. Free healthcare is only good for ppl that can't afford the service. I think in Quebec they have started seperating services, lets see how that turns out :)
I cannot complain about our health care system, after going through what I have in the past little while. I have had an MRI, a CT scan, seen numerous specialists, been through weeks of phisio. All without and trouble or out of pocket expenses. Renewing your health card is as easy as going to a Service Ontario Kiosk. You can even change an address at the same time you do your drivers licence, all in the same shot. These kiosks are all over southern Ontario, not sure about North Bay. I have no problem with the Ontario Health Care system.
Holy crap.
So, my wife comes home from the hospital at 5pm. Her mom stays behind for a bit to hang out some more.
Mom finds out.. THE DOCTOR WASN'T EVEN WORKING TODAY. And, the other doctor was "on call". So, since they didn't know the doctor wasn't working, they never called the on call doctor to come in.
So they're sitting around for a whole day, to find this out at like 6pm.
To add to it, the nurses spoke ZERO English. They just starred and blinked when asked a question.
The little packages that have the forks, salt, etc. were opened.
I'm really glad his leg didn't fall off, or had a heart attack, or something.
I hope that he makes it out of that place alive.
Unfortunately, in Ontario, in a hospital, if you aren't going to die, make a mess by puking all over the place ( I have a kid with Crohn's, the stories I could tell ), or being extremely disruptive, you'll be put on a shelf until they get to you. Having said this,I have also seen the good side to the Healthcare system in Ontario. Another son , was hit by a car, and suffered a fractured skull, ( ladies and gentlemen, get your kids to wear helmets when on wheels ) and a minor brain injury. He spent four days in a London hospital, got great care and is back to normal.
One thing you, your wife and her family has to do is become a squeaky wheel, in the hospitals. The hospital staffs in large hospitals are overworked, and under appreciated, and are just as frustrated as the patient's families about the slow pace of care.I hope your father-in-law heals quickly and gets back on your feet, and that this doesn't change your mind about moving up here.
Well I can see were you're coming from. Just after my wife and I got engaged she got sick and went to the doctor, she was miss diagnosed and long story short she was on her death bed with meningitis for 5 days it was hit or miss ( she's ok but it took her over 1 year to recover) Anyways back to the point. The entire time she was in the Hospital she was crammed in the Emergency room because the had shut down a few floors, to make it worse she was on a gurney the whole time. It was at that time I decided to get private health care coverage. When we had our son we had the private room and we were waited on. (it sucks that you have to pay for extra coverage but im glad we did)
So that's my nightmare.
I have a story..
I broke my wrist pretty bad last year (distal radius) snowboarding. My wrist was S-shaped, my hand was totally disconneced from my arm, and the bone nearly peirced through my skin. I wont lie, it didnt really hurt too bad, just flashes every once in a while..
But I was in the waiting room for 1 hour then the actual emergency room for 3.5 hours and all they did was give me some ice n that time. I finally got some x-rays then back to the emergency room for another 45 mintues... After a lengthy talk with an old woman with a broken ankle I FINALLY got some attention. After 2 failed attempts at giving me a muscle relaxer the doctor reset my bone without any relaxant at all and wrapped it in a tensor bandage with a splint and sent me home....???.....
I knew this was a bad idea so I went to another hospital the next day and after 2 hours there I finally got a actual cast put on... After telling me about some new type of cast material that you can shower with without damaging it they decide its better to give me a plaster cast...
Following that were 2 weekly visits at the Hand and Upper Limb clinic which wait time is 1 hour if your lucky, I wasnt... And then doctor decides I need surgery and has to re-break my wrist and I now have a t-plate in there permanently... To top things off it was my first surgery ever and there was a lady trying to get me to consent to a needle in the armpit so I wouldnt have to be knocked out. I declined and said I would rather be knocked out and then she felt it necessary to tell me that by doing this I am upping my chances of death from the anesthetic.... what the hell.... nice woman...
Lesson Learned.. Shouldnt have went to the University hospital in the first place. :angry:
wow, waiting for anything longer than a 1/2 hour here in the ER is torture. For a head injury I was wasn't waiting long at all. the longest I've personally had to wait was about 2hrs and that was cause there was only one doctor working and it was during a long weekend.
and PDW, your story about a breaking your wrist is horrible. I've broken my arm and my leg, and was in for surgery to set my arm within hours of getting to the hospitial. My leg was another story, had to wait 45mins on a hockey rink in small town sask for an ambulance to arrive and then have surgery in the morning.
My entire family had nothing but quick and responsive actions from our health care providers out here. even with cancer treatments and my grandpa, as soon as it had appeared he was in treatment for it.
You all should move to Sask, seriously you'd be saving a lot of cash and have a better overall life here.