There has been a lot being said in the news about the sate of Calgary's health care system, such as the long wait times in the ER's, the red and yellow alerts for EMS, staff shortages etc. All of which the health care workers and our government are some how to blame. Everyone is looking for someone to point their fingers at just so they can say " ha, you are the reason why I am not receiving the health care I deserve". When in reality people should be pointing their fingers at themselves and saying "maybe I am the reason someone else is not receiving the health care they deserve".
As a nurse I am sick and tired of hearing people complain about the system and about the wait times, when the public is as much to blame for the state of the system as anyone else. I am truly disgusted with what comes into the ER's. People coming into ER's and urgent care centers for things such as the common cold, the stomach flu, coughs that they have had for 12 hours, for hang nails, for mole removals, and my most personal favorite.....bringing their child in for having string wrapped around their toe! As a system we are not allowed to turn these people away so they clog up the waiting rooms, increase the waiting times, and take up ER beds for no good reason at all. All of the above "issues" can be either dealt with at home or at your local walk in clinics, as there is nothing about them that qualifies them as emergencies.
Yes I do agree that the staff shortages are a problem. Alberta needs 2,000 more nurse right now, however only 600 will graduate this year and we all know that not all 600 are going to stay in Alberta or in Canada. Another problem is that Calgarys population has exploded in the last couple of years in a way no one ever thought and we are not able to keep up.
With all that being said the biggest problem of them all is the public. People need to educate themselves as to what is or is not an emergency. Chest pains, broken bones, a burst appendix, lacerations, miscarraiges, those are emergencies! People can whine and complain all they want, but the fact is if people are not willing to take reponsiblity for their own abuse of the health care system.....I have news for you ladies and gents........its only going to get worse.
So the next time you are sitting in an ER with a runny nose and a cough, and find yourself sick of the 8-10 hour wait, find yourself wanting to go and complain to the triage nurse about the fact that you have been sitting there for 5 hours, you should stop and ask yourself......should I really be here?
1 comment:
What can I say, cuz I think you said it all. I think what you wrote should be on the front page of every paper in the country, and on the evening news. I think more than just the problems you mention is the fact that people just don't try or know how to take care of themselves. Maybe if we were living back in the time when we didn't know the government would provide for our well-being, we'd work harder to stay healthy. People piss me off.
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