‘We were shocked’: Hub readers’ health-care horror stories highlight need for real reform

A very close call  We went to our local emergency department because I was having heart pain and many other symptoms. I’m 74 years old, and, of course, right away, as a woman, I thought a heart attack was sneaking up on me. Our hospital here in Oakville, Ontario, is new, but we were shocked at how tiny the emergency waiting area was. People were lined up next to the sliding doors, which opened onto the cold weather. There was one young lady there holding a tiny new baby in her arms. And the waiting room was filled to the brim. I walked right to the front of the line and told the woman behind the glass wall my age and the fact that I was having heart pain. She sent me to the back of the line, where I waited for 15 minutes until they moved me up closer. This meant I only waited two hours to be triaged and at least three hours before someone saw me for the first test. The first triage man yelled at me because I had asked to be moved up in the line. I was so shocked I could not respond. Once we got into the system, the doctors and support system were great, but everything moved so slowly. It was eight hours before we got out the door. I had an electrocardiogram, an interview and X-rays on old ribs that had broken in the spring. The emergency doctor was in a bit of a rush, but he treated me respectfully and listened to me carefully. It did not end up being my heart, but we feel that I would’ve died there if it had. There did not seem to be any rush to handle a heart situation. Many years ago, my husband went there with an arrhythmia. They took him in immediately, got him on an IV, and tested him within a half hour. But things have changed drastically in a short period of time. We are very concerned that, as we age, there will not be adequate health care for us. What am I saying? We know that there is not adequate health care for us now. – Anonymous Real consequences for a lack of timely care I live in Calgary, Alberta. In the winter of 2020, the vision in my right eye suddenly deteriorated. I was informed I had what’s called an epiretinal membrane (ERM), a buildup of material over my retina. I had noticed a vision alteration in the fall of 2019 and was sent to urgent eye care. My vision seemed to recover after that. But apparently, a tear should have been lasered to help prevent the ERM. However, the ophthalmologist never relayed that to me, and my family doctor never appeared to have read his report. I was scheduled for surgery in the summer of 2020, but it was cancelled twice. By August, I could hardly see out of the eye. I was making arrangements to go to Texas for the surgery. Days before I was set to leave, they again called me for surgery in September. Because of this lack of timeliness, I will never see properly out of the eye. My vision is distorted and measured at 20/2100 [severe low vision or legal blindness]. Needless to say, this makes me very cautious and careful about my good left eye. – Kim Pointing fingers is not the same as real reform I have always been healthy and have never spent a night in hospital in my life. I try to count my blessings every day. I have a wonderful family with a wife of more than 45 years, children, and the most amazing grandchildren. I have travelled and worked over a large part of the world. While my own encounter with the health-care system is indeed awful, the most horrible thing of all about our system is hearing from all the professional participants (politicians, health administrators, doctors, nurses, academics, unions, and especially media types and “advocates”) pointing fingers at one other for the failure of the system year after year and then doing nothing useful about it. I have resolved never to be killed by the government (MAID) or to die in a Canadian hospital ward with three strangers, no windows, and nothing on but a hospital gown and a diaper. Understand, though: I am not a victim—I am absolutely blessed! – Alan This is more than a crisis Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my health problems, but it would take a very long time to include relevant reasons why I am now pretty much bedridden. Due to pain and nausea, I have a window of about 10 minutes to sit in my walker and get necessary things done (bathroom breaks, etc.). Saying we are in crisis is really putting it mildly! I have given up on doctors, and I would rather die than ever go to another hospital looking for help! I’m not being a drama queen, I sincerely mean this! – Nancy We deserve better than the bare minimum My ”current” doctor has figured it out. After many years, my regular doc closed his practice to go to work in the emergency department. ”Better hours,” he said. Many months later, I had no choice but to sign up with whoever accepted new patients. I get seen now, but the new doctor absolutely refuses to deal with more than one health issue at a time: a twisted ankle here, a lab test there, a prescription renewal. There are no difficulties setting up another appointment. His waiting room is always full. And no one has to wait very long to get called in. He abides by a simple checklist: “Why are you here?…Open your mouth…Make another appointment.” It is like seeing a robot. Makes one wonder how many operators of this kind are hiding in the numbers the Ontario auditor general found just a few days ago. – Gene Submissions have been lightly edited for clarity.