What a difference a river makes ...

Contrasts ... Sorry about the formatting. Blogger doesn't like my side-by-side formatting.

Yesterday I had my second ultrasound in the past few months. The first was done at the Gatineau Hospital; the second at the Riverside. The contrast was striking.

Gatineau:

1. I had to drink 8 cups of water.
2. Result: I was in pain.
3. They were ½ hour behind schedule.
4. I HAD to pee.
5. The technician was rough.
6. She had to do a second 15 minute probe that was even rougher than the first.
7. She did not get a clear result.
8. I was traumatized and in pain for a couple of days after.


Riverside:
1. I was told to drink 3 cups.
2. My bladder was full, not painful.
3. The procedure was done on time.
4. I didn't have to pee so both ultrasounds could be done.
5. The technician was quietly competent and calm.
6. She did both ultrasounds without incident.
7. I will get the results in 2 weeks.
8. I felt perfectly comfortable afterwards.


I have had bad experiences at both of the hospitals on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. The Gatineau and Hull Hospitals really frighten me. Several of their emergency room doctors resigned a year ago because conditions were dangerous. The Hull Hospital had to close its operating theatres for a while a few weeks ago because their sterilization equipment was a mess. Yesterday I heard that the staff members were taking on the job of recruiting for additional staff since the administration was not doing the job.

My own doctor told me that she has patients who work at those two hospitals but will not go to either as a patient because of the understaffing and incompetence.

I've encountered delays and confusion, a doctor who was incompetent and uncaring, and an ultrasound technician who might have been a plumber or a member of the cleaning staff called in because the technician was off sick, but I have also been treated well by an older anaesthetist who must feel terrible that his hospital is serving the community so badly that people fear it.

Our local paper reported that Quebecers have the highest anxiety rates in the country. I wonder if the state of the medical system as seen in the Outaouais is a contributing factor.

On an almost totally different subject, and one I promised not to blog about again, I have discovered a homeopathic medicine that after a couple of days seems to be providing, if not a cure, at least tremendous relief for those damned hot flashes and night sweats.

Thanks goodness for the Riverside Hospital and for homeopathic medications!

Good News Bears

My heart test results just came in ... and they are fine!!! It was worth taking most of Friday to find that out.

The Riverside called today and I have an appointment with the other specialist September 5.

I feel like a new woman, but it is a little strange that I feel relief because I wasn't really worried. You know how sometimes you just have a feeling that everything is either okay or it's not?

I was pretty sure that the chest pains were directly related to the stresses in my life at the time rather than to something physical.

And I have the same feeling about the other odd things that were happening at that time so I imagine that my visit to the Riverside will net similar results.

I am a pretty healthy old dame, you know.

The bears and the dragon in my den are to remind me that I need to play more and worry less.

Our Health Care System: Riddled with Disease

Yesterday I received a phone call that would have brought happiness to most people, but it caused me considerable anxiety. And, as a Canadian, neither response should have been appropriate.

The call was from the Wakefield Medical Centre. They had a new general practitioner who was accepting patients.

Yes I want a doctor 15 minutes from home. I find it very difficult if I am unwell to get to my doctor in Cumberland who is 1 ½ hours away, especially in bad weather. And she is very busy so there is always a wait and I feel a little rushed once I actually get in to see her.

BUT

... and yes, it is a big but ...

I am afraid of the two large local hospitals to which a Quebec doctor would refer me.

My experience with both the Gatineau and Hull hospitals has made me fearful of them.

The orthopaedic surgeon who was incompetent and coldly uncaring, and the technician who was rough and incompetent are NOT balanced by the Gatineau obstetrian who saved Sam's life during Kerry's last delivery or by the anaesthetist at the Hull Hospital who was so kind I'd have married him if he'd asked.

Health care should not be a balancing act for patients.

Canadians should be assured of competent care at any hospital in Canada. Canadians should be able to expect that they can have access to a family doctor. Those are the two basic planks on which universal health care should rest.

The woman who called me sympathised. She recognized that my fears were justified and suggested that I continue with my Cumberland doctor until the health problems that are being investigated are resolved.

The Canadian health care system is liable to crumble.

People cannot find family doctors.
Hospitals are under-staffed.
Cancer tests are being handled incompetently.
Forensic pathologists are careless and incompetent.
C Difficile is rampant and has been covered up.

It is not just the Outaouais.

Health care is a provincial concern but it is a Canadian problem.