Canada’s health-care crisis: Problems, solutions and privatization

In the face of a health-care crisis, Adrienne Arsenault brings together patients and health-care workers with different perspectives to discuss the problems, potential solutions and whether there’s a role for more privatization.

#Canada #Healthcare #PublicHealth

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The National is the flagship of CBC News, showcasing award-winning journalism from across Canada and around the world. Led by Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Ian Hanomansing, our team of trusted reporters help you make sense of the world, wherever you are. The National was named Canada’s Best National Newscast by the Canadian Screen Awards and RTDNA Canada.

[rachelk]

Health plans from employers should include kin visits/ exercise plans and diet plans to help prevent issues. We also need to increase mental health supports. We also need to have a healthy economy where housing isn't 80% of one's paycheck

[linlena]

My nephew, a talented Canadian did not get offers from all Canadian Med schools and received offers from an Australia University. He accepted it and start his study aboard. The big picture is a couple of years later, he might stay in Australia instead of back to Canada. Canada loses the talent future doc.

[thegreatlemmon]

As a front like health worker. All I can say it's not a system that people should look into in right now. The world load on average is up 300%. But you only make a dollar more. Its not fair at all and people are leaving in waves. Not to mention all the red tape thanks to covid that we have to jump around. I'm asking that front line health workers get fair pay. The minimum wage for such a stressful job should be 28$ to 30$ minimum. The fact that people work this job and get paid 18$ a hour is nuts. We are the last stand for people wellness and life. If you cant see why the health of yourself and people around you is important then why have health care at all.

[ownrhythm]

I have a family doctor now, went 20 years without one, but still had great service the very few times I needed treatment throughout that with walk in clinics and ER. Throughout my 50 years experience with our publicly funded health care, I would give it high praise. If all the people complaining about our health care system actually cared about their own health a little more, we wouldn't see such a burden to the system. With about 1/3 of Canadians obese or overweight, and only 1/2 getting the recommended amount of physical activity, it's time to ask if we deserve free health care? Do we not bear some responsibility for our own health anymore? What happens when/if these percentages get worse and unattainable? Everyone talks about increasing mental health needs, but the fact is that mental health cannot be fixed like a broken leg. Someone in mental crisis can have the best care but there is no guarantee their condition will improve, even after months or years of treatment. If we hold the government accountable for our mental health outcomes we are surely to be disappointed no matter how much money we spend. Exercise is probably one of the most effective means to better our mental health, but a doctor can't do it for us or prescribe a pill to replace it. Your health care starts with you, not the doctor!

[evatudor]

When you have private clinics, the doctors will be leaving the public care system for more money to the private care.This happened in Romania now.This should never be allowed, it's coruption in health care, believe me I felt it and it's scary

[bellecolter]

No private healthcare! I’ve lived over a decade in the U.S. and we had top of the line insurance and it still was an overpriced, out of pocket, nightmare. Waiting months for a specialist, hours and hours in the ER, no in network specialists and paying $2000 a month for insulin while we pay $$$$ for the insurance. It’s the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US for crying out loud. There’s this huge fallacy healthcare is so much better when in reality, like with most things in the states, is nothing more then puffed up propaganda. What’s been going on here in Canada since I left has certainly not improved the system, I shake my head at what’s gone on, but that’s the fault of every provincial government and the federal! Enough is enough with the politicians lining their pockets and spending our tax dollars on everything Canadians don’t need, and high time we take back the power and have them do the jobs WE pay them to do. Private healthcare is not the way to go at all, we need to look at Norway, Germany and the other top universal healthcare systems, not the one south of the border who allows the insurance companies to dictate what you get, and not your doctor. Canada has enough wealth to have true universal healthcare including prescriptions, vision, physio, mental and dental. Enough already with the sad sac politicians spending millions and billions of our money while loads of us don’t have the medical care we need.

[Krista-]

were going to the emergency room because people across all levels of health care including outside of health care and into social networks are passing us off to the emergency room, to the crisis lines, ultimately excluded left with no where safe to go.

where does a vulnerable patient go when there is no where left to go?

sadly there are too many out there ruining the professions credibility across all levels. so even if you are genuine, you wont enjoy having to deal with the trauma i have been left. the worst kind, because it was caused by people seemed very genuine to me.

good luck

[Sarcasticron]

It's very common for patients to be left in debilitating pain for a decade, depending on social assistance, when they could have been working that whole time. Their doctors just ignore their pain and diagnose them as exaggerating. I've discovered that there's a huge industry in India selling medications to Canadians who've been left in terrible pain by the healthcare system. Most people addicted to street drugs are self-medicating for problems their doctors ignore. By cutting healthcare services and making doctors spend so much time doing paperwork, the government is wasting huge amounts of taxpayer money, and literally torturing and killing people. Years ago, the UN told the Canadian government that leaving patients in pain is the same as torture, but since then they've only made the problem worse. Politicians should be held accountable for the people they torture and kill.

[justice]

My choice was to wait somewhere between six to eight months for MRI, or pay $2, 800.00 for private scheduled one month wait.

[abertj.]

There's no health care in Canada!!! Finding a family doctor or walk-in clinic is impossible!!! This country became a disaster and nightmare!!! one has to go to a hospital emergency and wait for 5 hours to see a doctor for a minor or any problem. What kind of country is that?

[drbajaj]

Canada has to move out from slumber and improve their system. Why not allow foreign qualified doctors to start thier own clinic - even walk in clinic will improve and serious patients can be tackled in the hospital . Give temporaty work permit to International medical graduates with say 10 years or more experience a chance . Canadian licentiate authority can verify the degrees before granting them visas.

[murymur]

All Health care Sistem are Changed Changed Changed all over the Our Planet for Healthy, Healthy Minded, Helthy Lifestyle All Good for Good People❤❤❤

[blessedfirexgf]

The US has Dr that don't discuss the client health with the client terrible 😢

[Aces]

The real problem is that they give themselves jobs in administration slacking off in the offices rather than working in the front lines where they are really really needed!!!!

[jeanouderkirk]

I agree with the Dr and the economist. They obviously understand what the problems are suggesting a good system to work towards.

[trk]

In such discussions a Pharmacist should also be included in the panel. With expertise in medication, side effects etc. the Pharmacist can significantly reduce the burden of the physician and improve efficiency of the medical system in Canada.

[NoraRai-nj]

Thank you for the video, really helpful to complete my research.

[TP-ywhj]

Canada's public healthcare system is being purposely collapsed by the Conservative premiers of provinces. The federal governemnt funding that is given to the provinces for healthcare is not being spent on healthcare by the conservative provincial governments. And it's not just the conservative provincial governments that are privatizing heatlhcare in back room deals, some of the people in the administrations for hospitals and management in pubich heatlh agencies are pushing for privatization of Canadian public heatlhcare. It will be a long tedious fight with many patients suffering and dying but eventually the people who control heatlhcare will privatize like the USA did. Unless that is Canada call for a general country wide strike to improve Canadian public healthcare. The only ones trying to keep publich healthcare strong in Canada right now are the voters and especially the front line healthcare workers- nurses, NP's, PSW's, doctors, specialists, surgeons and all the healthcare workers doing the actual healthcare. Canada is not the same country it was and everyday it is becoming more and more ruthless like the USA. Canadians are not nice anymore and they are not happy because life has become unaffordable in all ways. It's terrible to see a once great country going down in flames.

[cecigalvis]

I've been on both sides: as a health care practitioner and as a patient in Canada: in both of them I've experience burden. As a health care worker I decided to leave patient care due to burn out and no health care benefits at all (isn't this paradoxical???). As a patient: I've been left at ER waiting for hours with no solution, also waiting for a referral from my GP and a phone call to get the appointment. There are practitioners, but no investment. Hospitals are not receiving the budget to hire more staff which causes more pressure on those who are already in the field. On the other side, there is a backlog of internationally trained practitioners and new graduates waiting to be licensed (dealing with complicated administrative processess and fees). It looks to me that at some point intentionally, politicians and the media want to "convince" people that there are not enough practitioners (which is partially right, but not completely) just to systematically force people to acquire private insurances or seeking help in private clinics. I do not swallow the entire story of the "shortages"

[paulharrold]

No government run system will be as efficient as a private enterprise .