I know the Canadian province of Alberta has a lot of problems as it pertains to Healthcare, but this is another “straw that broke the camel’s back”. (That poor camel has had it’s back broken so many times).
Because my mother is in the last years of a lifetime of the disease, Lupus, she is often on her way to a hospital Emergency Room. She is often severely ill with advanced pneumonia and can’t breath on her own. She needs immediate oxygen and I have to call 911.
The Fire Department arrives and the Ambulance a few minutes later. Once she’s in the back of the Ambulance with an attendant and I’m sitting in the front seat, the real problems begin.
I remember one specific time when the hospitals with Emergency Rooms were in a “red light” situation. This means they are NOT accepting any new Emergency patients. I said to the Ambulance Driver, “What are we suppose to do now? Head for Tim Hortons’ and buy donuts?”
He responded, “No. We drive around and circle in an area approximately equal distances between the hospitals, so as soon as one of the ER’s opens up, we can bring your Mom to it.”
I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t.
Thankfully we only had to drive around for about 40 minutes before one of the ER’s started accepting patients again. Once in the hospital, Mom was parked in an ER hallway and the Ambulance Drivers popped open little portable camping chairs and one took out a computer and the other a book, to help them pass the time. Apparently, because Mom was on the Ambulance gurney, the Ambulance attendants couldn’t leave until they got their gurney back and that wouldn’t happen until Mom got a bed in the Emergency Room.
10 hours later Mom moved from the Ambulance gurney in the hallway to a bed in the ER and the Ambulance Drivers were out of there 60 seconds later. They told me that this was the usual occurrence and that they rarely got to “service” more than one person per shift.
Now that was just the beginning of our ordeal for that particular trip to the Emergency Room and I could tell you even more horror stories about Emergency Rooms, but I’ll save that for a later time.
What motivates me today is that on news this morning , Alberta Health Services (in charge of healthcare in our province) has just announced that the Emergency Rooms are full and members of the public should avoid going to the hospital, unless we are sure death is imminent. All this because of the FLU!
This is not a new thing. This happens every winter in the Province of Alberta. Several people get the flu and many people go to the hospital. But if it happens EVERY year, why are they NOT prepared for it?
Mom and I have often wondered about the capabilities of Emergency Rooms and hospitals in general. If they can’t handle cases of Influenza, which happens every year at the same time, what would they do if there was a REAL emergency, like a fire or earthquake?
Telling people to “don’t get sick” and “don’t come to the hospital if you’re sick” is like telling people, “No more going to the bathroom.” As if we have any choice in the matter.
Our Government is trying to find several millions of dollars to create a new arena. It’s crazy to build a sports area worth all that money, when people will die if they get the flu because they can’t get into a hospital.
Mom brought up something that I found interesting. She said it reminded her of the fall of the Roman Empire. When the Roman civilization was in chaos and decaying internally and the Emperor decided to give everyone “Bread and Games”. It’s why they built the Coliseum in Rome. To get everyone preoccupied with gladiators and executing Christians so they wouldn’t focus on all the other failures of the governing bodies. But now-a-days we’ll get our new Coliseum, but it doesn’t seem we’re even going to get the “bread”. What a rip off.
Another reason our healthcare system never improves is because the people in government who hold the purse strings always get to jump the queue because they are famous and apparently more important than us regular “Joes”.
For many years Alberta was operating without any debt at all because we have so much oil in our Province. Instead of handing out this money to people in the Province or into programs that are lacking, members of the Alberta Government put it into what became known as “The Heritage Fund”. They kept telling the people of Alberta that the money in the Heritage Fund was for us, but that they were saving it for “a rainy day”. I just kept thinking, it’s raining all the time, the only difference is who you are, where you’re standing and whether or not you have an umbrella. Again, the people who held the purse strings to the “Heritage Fund” had jobs (in Government), money, fame and could jump to the front of any line.
BTW. If you’re wondering what happened to the Heritage Fund, that’s a good question. Now the Province is operating with a large deficit and the Heritage Fund is gone, even though we keep pumping out the oil.
P.S. Let’s hope that camel with the several breaks in his back doesn’t go to a hospital to get some attention. The ERs aren’t accepting patients right now.
STORY ABOUT INFLUENZA STRAIN ON ALBERTA HOSPITALS
Alberta Health Services (AHS) says hospitals in the two cities are experiencing capacity pressures, partially because more people than usual are requesting treatment for influenza-like and gastro-intestinal-type illnesses. The average number of influenza cases is 150, right now there are 700, pushing occupancy above 100 per cent at major hospitals and medicine units in Edmonton and Calgary, which has caused five surgeries to be canceled in Edmonton.
Albertans are being asked to help by ensuring they have received their influenza immunization (1 in 9 Albertans have received the vaccine) and understand there are more care options than emergency departments. AHS is recommending those who are suffering from flu-like symptoms go to a medicentre or see their local doctor. Only those people who are having respiratory issues connected with the flu or can't hold down fluids should be going to an emergency room.
Read it on Global News: Global Edmonton | Outbreak of influenza cases putting pressure on heath care centres
