Re:Silent crisis of soaring excess deaths in Britain is only...
by refurb on Sunday August 21, 2022 @08:22AM
(#32539452)
Very similar to Canada as well. Healthcare funding was limited before Covid (12-24 months wait for joint replacement), but with the 2 year hiatus on screening and non-urgent procedures, plus mass burnout of healthcare workers the system is close to imploding.
Now it's pretty routine to just go to urgent care since it's unlikely you have a family doctor, ever. Rural hospitals and clinics are either reducing hours or just outright closing due to lack of staff.
The difference is there is no private healthcare in Canada (there is, but it's minuscule).
You either wait for the public system or you fly to the US.
I met a guy in Vancouver who was flying to the US to pay $36,000 to get his knee replaced because his doctor told him "the wait was 2 years before Covid, now? it's indefinite". Guy was a highly active 65 year old and realized $36,000 was cheap if it meant he didn't have to give up 5 years of his best remaining years waiting for the Canadian healthcare system.
Now it's pretty routine to just go to urgent care since it's unlikely you have a family doctor, ever. Rural hospitals and clinics are either reducing hours or just outright closing due to lack of staff.
The difference is there is no private healthcare in Canada (there is, but it's minuscule).
You either wait for the public system or you fly to the US.
I met a guy in Vancouver who was flying to the US to pay $36,000 to get his knee replaced because his doctor told him "the wait was 2 years before Covid, now? it's indefinite". Guy was a highly active 65 year old and realized $36,000 was cheap if it meant he didn't have to give up 5 years of his best remaining years waiting for the Canadian healthcare system.