Yet another medical story .

Yesterday we bought tickets for a steam train ride on Sunday . Yesterday afternoon we were informed the FIL fell in his shop and broke his leg just below the hip replacement .
The FIL is currently on a waiting list for a hospital that has an open OR , available qualified staff and pins/plates to brace up the break with .
So much for " free" healthcare in Ontario . You do not what to know how much the government skims off our income to pay for the free stuff .
Anyone want a steam train ride in Waterloo with the two extra 1st
Class tickets ?

Hopefully he's ok. I hope the other side doesn't get there way and make heath care free here in the U.S. A buddy of mine lived in the UK for four years, and he
said the free healthcare system there was horrible

Did I hear you correctly? Your FIL is waiting on
a Dr to fix his broken leg? Is your FIL in a
hospital on pain meds while they are waiting to
find a Dr to work on him?

(quoted from post at 15:14:21 07/21/23) Hopefully he's ok. I hope the other side doesn't get there way and make heath care free here in the U.S. A buddy of mine lived in the UK for four years, and he
said the free healthcare system there was horrible

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Every single person I talked to when I was in the UK for a couple work trips said the NHS was ok for routine stuff and they all had private insurance to cover anything non-routine. This was also like a decade ago before their NHS and it's current near collapsed state.

The proponents love to say how much less the UK spends on healthcare than the US. What they conveniently neglect to note is how much the UK *takes* for that free healthcare in taxes, stealth taxes and other games.

Yep, they spend less than the US, but they also take more than most people in the US pay for their health insurance and they also provide a lower level of service with long waits for stuff that in the US you would have done within a few weeks typically.

Their very own BBC new's health page is constantly filled with articles about their failing NHS, people going to other countries private pay to get the care they should be getting from the NHS they pay for but can't because they have multi-year waiting lists, people having to drive hours just to get to an NHS dentist that will see them, etc.

Socialized healthcare is a scam and could only ever work if the overall population health was quite good, which it is not in pretty much any "western" country at present.

Biggest problem with our health care system is some
people have unrealistic expectations of what level of
service should be. B&D isnt a young man, so
therefore I surmise his FIL must be in around the
neighborhood of 80ish. And having already
undergone a hip replacement that would suggest
there are extenuating circumstances around the
necessary surgery to repair this broken leg. So
probably not just any Doctor will be qualified to
perform this procedure. You can knock the Canadian
health care system all you like, but I have to wonder
just how affordable the insurance premiums would
have been for this man in a private system? He will get
the care he needs, but it may take a some time to set
it up. No matter if you have private or public health
care, there is a limit to what medical science can do,
and the Health care profession all want some time off
on weekends to enjoy their family and lives to. As to
what I read, this happens Friday afternoon, most
specialists might well be already gone for the
weekend.

Not sure what kind of drs you have there. My dad broke his hip about the same way when he was 91. Basically it broke and he fell. Sunday afternoon late. We live in small to medium town. Was in hospital within 1 hr and saw the ortho dr in less than 3 hrs. Dr said they would administer antibiotics and pain relief. Fixed it next morning early. 2 weeks in rehab and walked very well. Lived to 97. Do not think i want to live or have a health system that judges treatment on age.

Actually-I am curious how much you pay for health care in Canada thru your taxes. In 2018-2019
nonsubsidized health insurance cost more than I made at a part time job. It was about $26,000 for my wife
and me. And I still paid state and federal taxes. I am on Medicare now. Mark.

This is what I've noticed.

I don't know where you are, but I'm 88 and for the last 10 to 15 years I've noticed a lack of enthusiasm on the part of doctors for anything but the most simple issues. It's like they're saying, 'This old geezer has one foot in the grave anyway, there's no use wasting any time'.

Maybe it's a local issue. And I do have issues with the local system. All of the general practitioners in my county are under the same roof so there's no way to get a second opinion. I started going back to the VA. Better care, and the doctors are salaried so they don't have to scheme on how much money they can pull in.

Not getting on a waiting list is unrealistic expectations....good to know.

(quoted from post at 18:08:27 07/21/23) Biggest problem with our health care system is some
people have unrealistic expectations of what level of
service should be. B&D isnt a young man, so
therefore I surmise his FIL must be in around the
neighborhood of 80ish. And having already
undergone a hip replacement that would suggest
there are extenuating circumstances around the
necessary surgery to repair this broken leg. So
probably not just any Doctor will be qualified to
perform this procedure. You can knock the Canadian
health care system all you like, but I have to wonder
just how affordable the insurance premiums would
have been for this man in a private system? He will get
the care he needs, but it may take a some time to set
it up. No matter if you have private or public health
care, there is a limit to what medical science can do,
and the Health care profession all want some time off
on weekends to enjoy their family and lives to. As to
what I read, this happens Friday afternoon, most
specialists might well be already gone for the
weekend.

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FIL is 76

I didnt say it was unrealistic to expect to not be put onto a waiting list. What I said was that for a patient that no doubt has probably pre-existing complications, to find a specialist available to preform this surgery on a Friday afternoon, isnt in my mind unreasonable. Like it or not , older patients are of greater risk when going under for surgery. Many folks have issues with high blood pressure, or heart disease, and can be also taking various medications. Repairing people isnt like putting new parts on a tractor.

I have known several folks that have gone for hip and knee replacement surgery in their late 70s and well into their 80s, and did very well. Other folks have gone to the Doctor and thought they should get knee replacement surgery in their 60s only to be told that their knee isnt bad enough yet to require surgery, come back in 10 years when its really worn out. Because the replacements generally only last for 20 years. And if they give them to people when they are too young, they go doing crazy things like down hill skiing and blow the knee out again. They can only repair the joint one time and expect it to work really well.

No disrespect, Bruce, but your post is easy to say for someone not of BD's FIL age and predicament. If it were you in the hospital waiting on a surgeon, I bet you'd be singing a different tune. The US system has its issues, but it's still the best in the world. His FIL would not be on a waiting list in the US.

The comment often shows up that our so-called 'free' health care system up here isn't really free because Canadians pay 'more tax' than their American cousins south of the 49th. Of course, nothing is free anywhere right? Goods and services must be paid for no matter where you live. If you Google something like 'Canadian vs USA taxes' you will find a wealth of articles on the subject published by reputable sources. From what I see and read, there are a HUGE NUMBER of factors involved in making the comparison and it might not be as different as a lot of us think. Comparison of two countries who do things differently is quite difficult. An 'apples vs apples' comparison is impossible. Overall, both countries are great places to live for most of us here on the YT site and our complaints (mine included) would be laughed at by billions of people living in other places.

You can wait on a weekend at the Mayo Clinic if it is non life threatening. They have over 60 surgical suites and hundreds of surgeons. But you will wait for Monday here also to get the team together.

(quoted from post at 09:15:12 07/22/23) You can wait on a weekend at the Mayo Clinic if it is non life threatening. They have over 60 surgical suites and hundreds of surgeons. But you will wait for Monday here also to get the team together.

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Not going to be an assist in Ontario

(reply to post at 00:45:13 07/22/23)

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"They can only repair the joint one time and expect it to work really well."

After three surgeries to fix a botched surgery for a torn meniscus, my wife had to have the entire knee replaced at 53.
They really did not want to replace the knee at her age, but assured her that another replacement in the future would not be a problem.
I doubt she will ever wear it out as she is not the type to go jogging, etc.

"...re, there is a limit to what medical science can do,
and the Health care profession all want some time off
on weekends to enjoy their family and lives to. As to
what I read, this happens Friday afternoon, most
specialists might well be already gone for the
weekend."

That is NO WAY acceptable. I am in Wichita KS so cannot speqak for other places but I get what I want/need, when I want it or need it and never have to wait more than a couple of hours to get served and we have no shortages of anything. Policemen, electrical workers, firemen, restaurant workers and thousands more also want, and find a way to get, time off with family. Doctors should know what to expect when they go to school to be doctors - and here they are rewarded with huge exhorbitant incomes for their hard work smarts, and willingness to sacrifice holidays and nights from time to time (and I know of no one who resents their income either). I would spit on some doctor who tried to make me wait to have a broken leg fixed so he could go to dinner with his familly.

You know there is a problem when.........

Ontario s physician regulator is making it easier for doctors who were trained in the U.S., Ireland, Australia and Britain to practise medicine in the province, as jurisdictions around the country compete to remove licensing barriers in an effort to address chronic shortages in health care.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/can...estrictions-for-some-foreign-trained-doctors/

Yea, I've heard a lot of age related situations coming down the pipe from Canada....none of my business, if you like it, good for you!