I wrote this a couple of weeks ago - so forgive the tense - but I had full intentions on posting it as soon as possible.
Sitting here in the emergency room at St. Clare's Hospital, I am taking time to ponder our health care system. I am sure many others have sat where I am, pondering what I am pondering.
I look around at my fellow wait-ers. No one bleeding, no one screaming, no one throwing up, no noticeable distress.
Just a group of people, sitting around calmly, listening to a low volume news cast, reading a thick book, sneaking a look at their mobile, etc., etc. A sniffle here and there is heard - but no proff of ailment since it is freezing outside.
Firstly - I should say why I am here. In short, while preparing supper tonight, I sliced halfway through my finger with a corrugated bread knife. After cleaning and dressing it myself - and waiting a couple of hours, I decided I should pop up to talk to people who know this sort of thing when I started getting sharp, shooting, nerve pain to the centre of my palm.
That was 6:30 p.m.
It is now 10:30 p.m. exactly. I was triaged right away. Told I needed a few stitches - and that it would take 2+ hours. I left - went home - talked on the phone to my dad - went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert (with encore) - and then got dropped back to the emerg. room.......
My name still hasn't been called. Good news is - when I went to check on where I was too on the waiting list, I happened to be next - whenever that will be.
Good thing we are a 'have' province and Michael Moore thinks Canada has this awesome health care service. The media are kicking the crap out of our Premiere, Danny Williams, for flying to the U.S.A and paying for heart surgery so he could have it right away rather than waiting on a waiting list for god-knows-how-long.
As I look around this "emergency" room - I can see why he did it! And when it comes to your health, and life or death choices - everyone and anyone would choose immediacy over waiting.
Before assuming I am contributing to the problem, remember I am here for a flesh wound - not something that could wait to be dealt with by my family doctor. Although, as the hours creep by, I have to wonder if I an early a.m. appointment with him might be faster.
I would be nice to know, what the process is in a room like this one - obviously there are different levels of emergency - but what are they?
Am I, bleeding through another dressing, on the same level as the teenager with the cough banging away on her blackberry between little "ahems"?
After 5 hours gone by - one would assume I am being categorized on the low end of emergency. But what does that mean? or entail? one can only wonder - and wait.
At 12:25 a.m. - I was called in by a nurse to stitch my finger back together with three stitches.
