Take Two Aspirin and Call Me In The Morning

Another election looms and politicians across the province are tearing down each other in a desperate effort to claw to the top of the pile. It’s as disgusting as it is inevitable. But what’s worse is the collateral damage their attack ads are doing to the citizens of Ontario.

To listen to the campaigning candidates our home province is becoming a 3rd World wasteland, with crumbling schools, antiquated infrastructure, and employers fleeing in droves for greener pastures outside Ontario’s borders. And that doesn’t even count our out-of-control debt, the ridiculously overpriced hydro, or the roving gangs of criminals supposedly at war in the streets!

We at the NOP understand their game and refuse to play!

Sure, focussing on the province’s failures makes sense politically—angry voters are active voters!—but this constant negativity does a disservice to the people living and working in Ontario.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens labour every day to make life better for their fellows. Educators, construction crews, law enforcement, you name it—and yet every election we see politicians calling their efforts into question and demeaning entire industries just to win…it’s a travesty.

Our health care system is the campaign’s latest whipping boy. To hear the various candidates tell it, Ontario medicine is a disaster—we’d be better off turning to quack doctors or using leeches than setting foot in one of our province’s emergency rooms.

Don't believe it. Things aren't anywhere near the post-apocalyptic nightmare they portray.

Sure, there are problems in Ontario hospitals: Wait times are too long; There aren’t enough beds or staff; Costs are out of control; Etc. Etc. But there’s a difference between pointing out inefficiencies and tarring the entire medical system with one insulting brush.

Despite what these politicians promise, there are no easy fixes.

Arguing that the whole system needs overhauling is ridiculous. But that doesn’t stop candidates and their proxies from making outrageous claims.

One guy online said Ontario's health care is worse than that of America! His proof? A friend’s wife had to wait 27 hours in the ER.

Admittedly that’s a long time. But before we throw socialized medicine out with the bathwater let’s consider some facts from my own personal experiences. I’ve been in the ER four times in my life and none of those visits were pleasant.

Do I blame the system? No.

My experiences in hospital weren't quick or painless but they were efficient and, overall, positive. Staff did their best for me given the situation at hand.

Since patients are triaged, with the most serious cases moving to the front of the line, I sat and waited during three of those visits—once for over eight hours. That wasn’t pleasant (I had a kidney stone, it passed during the lengthy delay) but there was a snowmobile accident (with three severe injuries), a heart attack, a shooting, and an overdose that all needed immediate attention. I didn’t begrudge any of them (much). The fourth time I got bumped to the front of the line (doctors thought I was having a heart attack—I wasn’t, but I did stop breathing for a worryingly long time). The system worked.

Best of all I wasn’t on the hook for any of the bill!

Compare that to the US where, with enough money, I could have jumped to the front of the queue (or just gone to a specialist with minimal wait). But the costs would be astronomical—enough to bankrupt an average family! Sure there’s insurance, but who wants to bet their life savings on the insurance paying?

Heck, my electric wheelchairs alone (I’ve had almost a dozen different ones in my life so far, each custom fit and special ordered) cost small fortunes. My use of physiotherapy and my lone operation (12+ hours under the knife—with a six person surgical team—and more than a week in Sick Kids) probably ran in excess of $50,000.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying to the various traditional campaigns: choose your words with caution. Bad mouthing the health care system means attacking the people we turn to in times of illness, the people who make us better, the people who tend our loved ones.

Criticize the province's shortcomings all you want. Blame each other or past governments for the failures. Just remember, socialized medicine might have its flaws but most Ontarian's like it…much more than politicians anyway.

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