Canada's broken no competition health care system is close to collapse

[Herman]

Our collapsing health care system should scare the shit out of folks with pre existing conditions.
And lke the image shows it is only going to get worse.

[Herman]

But, Conman Carney will never have to wait. He will go to a private hospital in the US.

[Herman]

How did we let our health care system get to this point.

[Herman]

[Biggie Smiles]

How did we let our health care system get to this point.

Libtards turning a first world nation into a third world hellscape

[Herman]

Libtards turning a first world nation into a third world hellscape

Yep. And it aint no accident either.

[Herman]

Old Joe is sleepin on the floor of a Canadian ER enjoying his free health care.

[Herman]

We have the worst health care of any developed nation.

[Brent]

This happened to me. I got a deep cut at work and went to a Winnipeg emergency room. I waited 7 hours and went home. Without stitches the cut never healed right.

Canadians are leaving emergency rooms untreated in droves

Canada is facing an epidemic that most politicians simply won't talk about – a staggering number of patients are left untreated because they leave emergency rooms rather than endure long wait times. 

A new study from the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) shows that, out of the 16.3 million visits Canadians made to emergency rooms in 2024, nearly 8% ended with the patient simply walking out without receiving treatment.   

That's roughly one out of every 13, or more than one million, visits.   

The numbers vary by province. Ontario had the lowest percentage of walkouts, at just under 5%, while Prince Edward Island had the highest, at just over 14%.   

Unfortunately for Canadian patients, this crisis of a lack of treatment is getting worse, not better. From coast to coast, the proportion of patients leaving the emergency room without getting treatment is rising.   

Between 2019 and 2024, 31% more patients in Ontario left the emergency room untreated. That number is far higher in other parts of the country, reaching 88% in Manitoba and 94% in Newfoundland and Labrador.   

In 2024, about half of the patients who left emergency rooms were classified as semi-urgent or non-urgent cases. In other words, these are patients who came to the hospital without what intake workers deemed to be urgent needs.   

Still, these cases include instances of controlled bleeding and the need for prescription renewal, which, if left untreated, cause health concerns, nonetheless.   

These indicate there is a clear lack of access in many parts of the country to both primary care and minor emergency care. Seeing these shortages addressed will be critical to getting the number of patients leaving emergency rooms untreated down, as these lower-priority patients should have other avenues to seek care to free up emergency rooms for more critical cases. 

Speaking of critical cases, while it is true that about half of the patients leaving emergency rooms have semi-urgent or non-urgent cases, that still leaves a huge proportion of those patients choosing to walk out as being more urgent.   

In Ontario, for example, 51% of those who left emergency rooms had so-called level three cases, which are conditions that "could potentially worsen to the point of requiring emergency intervention."   

This points to an issue that many patients are familiar with: Emergency rooms are so overwhelmed that even patients with issues that are likely to worsen and require intervention are left to wait while those with even more critical issues are being treated.   

But many of those patients are choosing to leave the hospital rather than wait around for care, putting lives at risk.   

Many of these individuals ultimately return to the emergency room days later, facing even more severe health challenges, because their conditions have in fact worsened. This puts a further strain on the health-care system, as emergency rooms face additional urgent cases. It also costs taxpayers more, because resources are not being used efficiently.   

How can access to care be improved? The MEI has a few key suggestions.   

Expanding the use of nurse practitioners and pharmacists can help divert potential emergency room patients with lower-priority issues, generally those without a primary care physician, to other places.   

When it comes to real emergencies that are more minor in nature, the MEI suggests looking to countries like France, which have immediate medical care centres where cases can be treated without putting more strain on traditional emergency rooms.   

These clinics specialize in minor ailments and can treat non-life-threatening emergencies. Canadians could benefit from such facilities, which would once again divert patients away from emergency rooms.   

Some provinces do have emergency clinics, but their structure, according to the MEI, is quite restricted. They are publicly, rather than independently, administered, which subjects them to the same kinds of bureaucracy that is slowing down the rest of the health-care system. Independent administration would be preferable and more conducive to faster care.   

It's time for Canada's politicians to address this "not being seen" crisis in health care. Solutions are at hand, and include making more use of nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and creating independently run medical care centres. What Canadians need are politicians with the boldness to break with the status quo and support medical innovation.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/jay-goldberg-canadians-are-leaving-emergency-rooms-untreated-in-droves