Two stories about Health Care

The National Post and the Globe & Mail today had similar stories on health care. The Post had a story about a BC woman who needs a knee replacement, but has been on a waiting list for 31 months. She has decided to spend $20,000 and have it done in the US.

Christie Blatchford's column in the Globe & Mail was similar...a 21-year-old girl went to the emergency room in Waterloo with flu-like symptoms, but was told there would be a 8-9 hour wait. She unfortunately went home, without checking at the desk - she would have been better off to just wait. But, home she went, and she was much sicker the next morning...she then went to the student clinin and was ultimately back at the first hospital where she died the next day (she actually had bacterial meningitis).

There's something wrong with our healthcare. Paul Martin said he was going to reform the system, but all he did was throw money at the provinces. We need some real changes and a real debate about what kind of system we want, what we can afford, and how to move forward.