It might become boring, but I think I am on a personal crusade, in regards to health care.

There are many who believe in Private Health versus National Health, versus Univeral Health. And there is a difference between National & Univeral Care, in case you were wondering.

Why?

I suppose the simplest answer is, that I am now 54 years old, and mother is 92 years old. And HER health is not getting better, so my inter action with our health services is growing. In other words, I am not a Doctor, nor a Nurse, and my involvement with our Health Care is from the perspecitive of one using it. 

Maybe that makes a difference, maybe not. The point is, at some point in everyone’s life, they are going to need health care. If you are young, just starting out, you may not think you will, but rest assured, YOU WILL.

For example did you know that Canada is ranked  THIRTY (30) in the world, and the giant to the south of us, the United States is ranked THIRTY SEVEN (37) ? ( source )

After spending some time just yesterday, in our emergency care system, I can honestly tell you, that growing old, is not something our health services knows how to deal with. And let us be honest, WE ARE ALL GOING TO REACH THAT STAGE OF LIFE.  The point is, we do not treat our Seniors with respect, with dignity. We treat them, and most other patients, BY THE NUMBERS.

To me, that somehow seems wrong.

The Vatican has come out in favor of the decision by the Brazilian Archbishop, who ex communicated local doctors who performed an abortion on a nine year old girl. Seems, the nine year old girl, was impregnated by her step father, who is alleged to have sexually abused her, since she was six years old.

The story continues, that the abortion was performed, when it was discovered that she was pregnant, with twins, after complaining of stomach pain. The Doctors moved to save her life, because of concern that her body was unable to deliver a child, let alone twins.

Now the doctors, who moved to save a girl’s life, are supposedly denied entry to Heaven, and are banished from the Church.  Odd, isn’t it, as this same Vatican, under Pope Benedict, tried to have return to the fold a man who believes the Holocaust never happened.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I mean even if you assume or accept, that an abortion is morally wrong, is tantamount to murder, how then do you justify allowing the mother, who is 9, to die in childbirth? How do you equate her death, and possible the death of the twins at the same time, as being morally right, and abortion wrong, in this case?

I doubt if there isn’t anyone above the age of fourteen who doesn’t know that single use syringes are just that, for single use and that you toss them away after being used. Yet it appears, that Nurses & Doctors, who should know better, are being cost conscious and RE USING SINGLE USE SYRINGES FOR PATIENTS. Now I don’t know, but it shouldn’t even be a single instance of it, let alone be WIDESPREAD.

First five years of my ancient life was in High Prairie, and to hear about this happening there, is well rather sad. Worse is to find that the Alberta Health Minister is warning ALL PROVINCIAL COUNTERPARTS that it could be happening in their jurisdictions. This coming after Saskatchewan informed they found a Doctor doing it as well.

And these people call themselves HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS.

The publicity surrounding the announcements has revealed the practice wasn’t just limited to High Prairie.

On Thursday, health officials in Saskatchewan and Alberta announced a physician who practises at hospitals in Lloydminster, Sask. and Vermilion, Alta, had been using single-use syringes in the same manner.

Late Friday afternoon, officials with the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region in central Saskatchewan announced the mental health outpatients division had been reusing syringes to inject medication directly into IV bags. (source - CBC News)

Granted, this isn’t something to panic over, unless of course you are one of the victims of these health care professionals. And the same people who watch over these professionals, are very quick to point out that the risk of infection of things like HIV, Hepatitis B & C are low, I wonder how they would feel if it was their family member who may have been exposed to those diseases?

There isn’t a single Doctor in British Columbia who earns under a hundred grand a year, and Nurses start at about $40, 000.00 a year, and I have to wonder, what the hell are we paying them for? But you know, money aside, it is unbelievable to me that any so called PROFESSIONAL would even consider re-using a syringe, under any circumstances.

I was taught way back when I was growing up, that when you got hired to do a job, you did your very best at it. You may not enjoy it, you may not like it even, and you might even think you are worth a whole lot more than what you are being paid, but you agreed, so you give it your all, you do the very best at it. If it pisses you off, you look for another job, and move on, but as long as you are employed at that job, you give it your best.

MAN IS THAT SO FAR NOT HOW IT IS TODAY.

I really don’t have a problem with a Nurse or Doctor or Orderly, believing they are worth more than what they are paid. I have no problem with Teachers wanting more money to teach kids to read, write, and add. WHAT I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH is that they aren’t willing to do their very best, for what they originally agreed was a good salary. I mean come on, no one goes to school hoping that when they graduate, that the salary structure will have increased a hundred fold, or that some super new perks will have been included in all new employment contract.

A person entering Medicine today, knows full well what to expect. The fees aren’t hidden, or hard to find out, so they decide to become a Doctor, and suddenly, when they graduate, they are outraged at the low pay? I MEAN COME ON, GROW UP HERE. They knew before the five or seven year school stint, what the fees where, so they decided it was worth it. Suddenly it isn’t? BULLSHIT!

Now while everyone has their panties in a knot, it is strange to note that not everyone exposed is being tested. Another example of how nameless government officials are making decisions they have no business to make. Sure, being contacted and told you need to get tested isn’t going to be good news, but you know, it isn’t their choice to make. It is up to those who were exposed to the risk.

It will be interesting to see what our new Health Minister will have to say about this situation. Course that assumes she’ll even say anything, but you would hope she would. Then again, maybe she doesn’t have the joke repertoire that Agriculture Minister Ritz has, so she won’t say anything until she hires a joke writer.

Problem is, it isn’t a laughing or joking matter. I really wonder, what else is being covered up, or what else is being mis-used? If we can’t trust our Doctors & Nurses to do the right thing, who can we trust? Makes me worry & wonder, when our own Doctor says something about sticking to this or that drug. Does he know, does he care, or is he too cutting corners? After all, who doesn’t know that you never, ever, re-use syringes?

You gotta love the new debate format. We have some really good opposition leaders, and one rotten disdainful Prime Minister. The only passion by Harper so far in this debate is how he attacks the others, yet he has no plans to offer. Instead he attacks, attacks, and says nothing but lies.

The economy section shows that the only person not in touch with reality is Stephen Harper.

Right now they are talking about health care, and you have to wonder about Harper. He says the Liberals cut health care, which they did, but because the IMF forced it. As Elizabeth May has pointed out, under NAFTA we are once again being forced to cut or endanger universal health care. Harper says nothing but that he is the only leader who uses it. No reply, just attack and attack, without telling us why he isn’ supporting our health care.

No, not for a running mate for Obama, but for a Doctor for Mother, and I suppose for myself and David as well. It is strange, to have to fill out an ‘application form’ from someone you are buying service from. And let me say, the forms are a lot more intense than if you are applying for a job, and I simply don’t understand it.

It makes me wonder at what has happened to traditional family values. Seriously, there is so much talk by the politicians about ‘family values’, about ‘traditional values’ that I have to wonder, just what values do they refer to? Is it the value of who can make them the most bucks, who can give them the better leg up on the competition, or is it about compassion, charity, respect?

I used to believe that Doctors and Nurses were about healing, about caring. I feel that is no longer a consideration among many of these so called professionals. I mean I got more sympathy or understanding perhaps, from the secretary of our local MLA[1. Member of Legislature] than I did from our own family doctor’s nurses, and that just seems wrong to me.

I mean we were a ‘customer’ for 13 years, and it seems that even that doesn’t count. And you know, why should we even be looked at as a customer? I know, they call us ‘patients’ but somehow it just seems all too commercial. For example, no one told me that if we don’t get our medical records from our old doctor, that they put them into some medical storage firm, and it costs about $200 per patient to get them out.  Now, I mean come on, like that is really nice of them, to keep that little tid bit hidden.

They don’t say how long they keep our records, just to call them and get them ready if we find a new Doctor, not if we have 10 days, 30 days, or whatever. Then to not even tell us that if we don’t get them out by a certain date, they go to storage and there is a fee to get them out. Now I am not objecting to there being a fee for storing them, just that NO ONE TOLD US THAT.

So it looks like more ‘paperwork’ and I wonder, isn’t this all costing someone something? Maybe we are so afraid of what might be, we try to cover our asses so much, we forget our purpose. I mean, okay things can get out of hand with lawsuits, but one of the principles of Universal Health Care, is protecting the Doctors and Nurses from unreasonable legal exposure. Yet it seems, that in doing so, we are adding to the financial cost, and forgetting, that irrespective of age, people are entitled to care, to respect, and when you look at the world around, at Burma and how inept the Government is, you wonder if our own political leaders aren’t wishing they too could just ignore the sick and the elderly.