Souvy

It's all been done. CT scan fine. Blood work fine. It appears to be a trapped nerve, for which he has been given T3 and an anti-inflammatory.

I know he got there quite early but getting that lot done in a couple of hours is amazing.

bats

I know you know Souvy is a worrier so don't wind him up. There are certain things that guarantee you a very short wait and often an enture queue jump. Chest pain, one sided weakness, difficulty speaking, sudden onset of worst headache in life. All priority.

Thankfully most of the time the potential serious event hasn't happened.

Souvy

Oi!

I wasn't worried. Not my body.

bats

Nor, presumably, your paint roller.

Tinpusher63

Awww you know I'd never intentionally wind Souvy up. He's a good guy.

As for queue jumping, yep been there done that, got a few t-shirts.

bats

Frequent flyer card? . I tried the queue jumping thing recently. It's quite amazing.

Tinpusher63

Well, I hope you're OK now.

As for frequent flyer, I guess it's not good when you get admitted and the nurse on the ward says "Steve, we've got to stop meeting like this".

scrubbedexpat091

I got so used to the small hospital of the last town, forgot bigger ones have triage nurses. Squamish was generally so slow, they just take you straight back... I'd imagine if they get busy they would triage as well though.



I had not long ago the same sort of pain mentioned by Souvy, I was in the back before they took my care card, no CT scan though, doctor had me do various movements and figured its a nerve issue.

Still hurts almost 2 weeks later (neck) but not as bad, but man was the pain bad and so sudden, woke me up from sleep.

The first time (only been to that ER 2 times) I had gone to the ER, they had a nurse waiting for me at the door, I had gone to the walk in first as I didn't think it was anything to fuss about at the ER, but the walk in doctor sent me straight to the ER when she felt my pulse.

I was having weird heart palpitations for about a week, so decided to see a doctor, long story short, a medication was causing it.



Souvy hope your son feels better soon!

Souvy

There is a lighter side to my tale.

My son is in Edmonton for training. A QC guy in is 70s owns a business there. He is setting up a similar one in Quebec City. He needs someone to do the work (specialised electroplating). He hired my son, for complex reasons, and he's gone there to learn to ropes. He's staying in the guy's apartment.

When I was getting the texts yesterday, the boy didn't want to wake the bloke up (too early) and was worried that he would be mad about my son missing work.

He got in touch with him later and the guy went to the hospital, where he delivered an absolute bollocking (in rather blue Quebecois).

He was mad alright. Mad that my son hadn't woken him up!

BristolUK

Here's another example of post hospital cost.
Cataract surgery.

My mother in law just had both eyes done. There are three eye drops involved. Fortunately 2 are covered by her seniors drug plan and they're only $9 a time with Shoppers currently subsidising that by $4 each.

One isn't covered and the box of 60 single use drops (disregard most of what's left 60 times - what a waste) is just over $30.

For the sake of two single use drops - if she sticks rigidly to the plan - she may have to spend another $30. There may be a smaller size of 30, so maybe it'll be another $20 and waste 28 rather than 58.

The lenses inserted into her eyes mean once her eyes recover fully she may no longer need prescription glasses, perhaps just reading glasses. Either way, in 4-6 weeks she goes for a new eye exam to see what's needed.

In the meantime, and the day after her second eye was done, she's told not to wear her existing glasses and just get a pair of reading glasses - 1.75 or 2.0.

So we went to get some, the selection being $15 for basic or $35 for nicer.

But already, less than a week on, the reading glasses are not the good 'fit' that they were.

So does this mean a second pair? What does one do over a few weeks, buy 2 or 3 pairs which then get discarded when eyes have recovered?
(I wondered if some enterprising pharmacy might decide to 'rent' out used reading glasses at, say, $5 a time. You could get 2 or 3 pairs as needed for the same price as one and the pharmacy could get $5 several times rather than just once)

Anyway, cost of drops with subsidy $70-$80, glasses, maybe $30-$45 or the inconvenience of not being able to read for a month, followed by the $90 for the new eye exam, so about $190- $215 and then possibly the cost of new glasses to replace those that were fine just a couple of months earlier.

scrubbedexpat091

Not a OHIP fail but still a medical fail.

Gal online on FB went to local ER in town with abdomoinal pain. Doctor did some tests said nothing wrong and sent her home.

Not satisfied with the first doctors diagnoses she goes 1 town over to theor hospital. More tests and this time CT scan and she a small tumour on her ovary.

Not sure of the equipment first hospital had available so possibly first doctor could only do what was available test wise and equipment wise.

BristolUK

What was her name Munchausen?
Maybe another side to this.

bats

I don't see this as an example of negligence for several reasons. ED isn't the place for chronic pain diagnoses, they are essentially looking for emergent conditions that need immediate treatment. A CT scan from Emerge on a young woman needs convincing indications to be accepted for scanning.

Ovarian cancer isn't the easiest to diagnose.

BristolUK

And the sort of thing that becomes an urban myth.

scrubbedexpat091

No GP's so everyone can have one.

Walk in clinics are not the place for chronic pain as they generally tell you to see your GP.

The only option left for people in the ER.


I was just pointing out one of many flaws in our system, the GP based system doesn't work if there isn't sufficient GP's and for whatever reason Canada can't seem to keep up with demand, so the only option left for those without a GP for some things is the ER.

If I am having chronic pain that is concerning me, I certainly can't and will not wait 3-5 weeks to see my GP, so the ER is the next best option as walk in clinics just say to go see your GP.

It's just frustrating to people as we are supposed to have universal access to medical care and we currently do not have that due to difficulty in accessing it.

The whole medical system is just messed up. Especially on the non-physical health side of the system.