Average waiting time in Quebec's Emergency is up to 17 hours...
 

Yay for FREE Health Care :321GFY

If we had the US population then it would probably be 1 week wait... Fuck our system is fucked up.

I hope I wont get sick there:helpme

I can deal with the broken US system of 30 minutes to be seen urgent care and faster ER in my area.

Longest wait I ever had was 18 hours and technically I was seen in the first hour, just was sitting in the ER rooms for many of those before being transported to another hospital and then eventually getting a bed.

The ER hear is usually around 5 to 8 hours. They do check your temp and vitals while you are waiting to be called.

Average in the UK is 4 hours.

I have only needed the ER twice in my life. In Canada the wait was 3 hours.
When I had colitis my wait in the US ER was 8 minutes.

People going to the Hospital when they get a cold is the biggest problem but lets face it, it's better free then having none what so ever. In America if you don't have the money you get ZERO treatment and they let you die. Or in China they let you die so they harvest your organs.lol. It's not that bad here.

That is not true. You get treatment in the US even if you do not have health insurance or money. The rest of us have to pay it. :2 cents:

I read a study of ER waiting times they did in Ontario, and they found that many of the people who wait end up going home -- which would indicate that it was not an emergency.

I some ways, a long wait is a good thing as it separates those who are actually sick and in need of seeing a doctor -- and those that have a sore knee, or a headache, etc. and will go home rather than wait.

When you first come into the ER do they evaluate you? The hospital I went to they have a nurse check you out and then they give you a rating of 1 to 5. The people with the higher rating are seen first. The rest have to wait.

well - it depends what you are waiting for too - dont ya think? all ER visits are not equal.

And in the US a LARGE part of the ER traffic is uninsured. Since it is illegal for hospitals to turn away patients - people without insurance use the ER system to get seen if they are sick. If you removed those patients from the equation, the wait times in the US would be drastically lower than they are already.

Yes, the US system is flawed, but more so by the Legal profession driving up the costs of health care in the courts. In some states, certain specialties can no longer afford to practice because their insurance premiums are so high. There was a time in America when people were able to just pay cash at the doctor for their medical needs. Not any more.

Many hospitals now have both an ER and an Urgent care area. Got a boo boo, cold, or broke your finger - Urgent care, having a heart attack etc - ER. Works out very well and people that need to be seen quickly are.

Also in America if you do not have the money, you get treated. If you are without any insurance (state, medicare, private) then you may get turfed after the ER treatment and you are stabilized enough to leave.

Well you have to remember that Quebec is a "have not" province, so what do you expect? It's going to be worse there than most places.

So things have dramatically changed since the making of Sicko?

Has been that way long before sicko.

lol.. logic like this is why many Americans need to fight to keep the government out of health care!

.. ie.. better to go home cause it's just a headache. why waste the governments time and money treating a headache... unless of course it's a symptom of a much larger problem, like um... a tumor?

Martins right, it is idiots that go with a cold that make the wait long. If you are having a heart attack you wont be waiting.

My dad was sick a few months ago, nothing serious but serious enough they took him in asap and was treated.

Well let's just say Mr. Moore doesn't always present the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Just in the same way as you can't actually walk out of a bank with a gun after opening an account there, the Oregeon highway patrol is not responsible for patroling the shores but rather that coast guard is and other minor deceptions are presented by Moore.

In America they let you die if you have no money?

Uh, sorry pal... no, they don't.

No hospital in the United States just "lets you die". Some of you are amazingly naive.

Well a couple have but those are isolated incidents and not the norm.
Just want to prevent someone from pulling up the rare video or story of an ER allowing someone to die in the waiting room.

He is a man with an agenda. I wouldn't believe everything he says as fact.

Every documentary has an agenda. There is no unbiased documentary.

http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3809/4660/17632.aspx

Of course there's odd ball occurences here and there. It's happened in Canada where people have died in the waiting room waiting for care in the ER but it certainly not the norm.

I would guess that most people who are not Americans have no idea that there is even such a thing as a County Hospital. :2 cents:

Shit not only that. You should see the increase of Kids that are brought in on Thursday evening and Friday morning and then picked up on Late Sunday night or Monday morning. LOts of the Welfare people use it as a baby sitting service.

There is a difference between unnecessary deaths and the ER turning away someone dying on their doorsteps because they don't have a Blue Cross card.

That's not 18,000 people showing up in the Hospital and being turned away to die on the street.

They dont let you fucking die. Jesus christ some people are fucking stupid. My brother had something burst in his head, it filled with blood. He had no health insurance and he makes to much to get state help. The final bill was around $150,000 and paid it the old fashion way. The hospital will not just let you die.

AS he he has to take a loan out and pay it off over 20 years?

If you have a headache, which will not go away -- the best place to start is to go to your family doctor. If they are concerned, they will book you in to see a specialist. If I had a persistent headache, I would not go to an ER, I would go to a walk-in clinic.

The same as if I had a sore knee, I would go to an ER. But if I had chest pains, and tingling / numbness in my arms and hands -- I would go to the ER (via ambulance).

An emergency room, by definition, is for emergencies (broken arm, chest pains, head injuries, etc.). I think that people who turn up because they have a sore throat should be made to wait until they go away -- aversion therapy :)

I have paid such bills a couple times.
Though yes you may need a loan, or may need to file bankruptcy, whatever - they still treat people.

No our family would not let him do that. We all pitched in and helped him. But the hospital did offer to put him on a payment plan. Why should anyone besides his friends and family pay for his bills?

Really depends on situation and person though. A headache can also be an aneurysm and if not seen that day or perhaps in hours it could burst and game over.

Not saying everyone needs to run to the ER for a headache either. Few actually do and again very often hospitals have both ER's and urgent care centers. Then triage will deal with and prioritize people in either one.

That is what my brother went in the hospital for. He had a sever headache. They found that his head was filling with blood.

Good to hear they caught it, my aunt died from one before she made it to the ER.

Of course they will still treat you, not saying that. It is just crazy to me that if you dont have insurance the average person will be paying that off for a long time

arent there hospitals stealing from other hospitals and giving payed care for free? :) anyway oops if you are waiting with lets say half cutted finger ...

I am so sorry about your aunt. :(

Insurances and entitlements are the reason hospitals charge so much. Why would they charge anything but the max?

Sorry man that sucks. :(

That's not true. Malpractice insurance is just over 3% of total expenses for the average doctor. It is actually a smaller percent of overall expenses than it was 20 years ago. Equipment, prescriptions, and staffing (nurse shortages drive up their cost) are the major costs associated with a doctor's practice.

Doctors who have high insurance premiums are ones with multiple claims that make them high risk. It can be unfortunate, but it also helps weed out bad doctors who are frequently sued for poor work.

That talking point has been debunked over and over.

Was several years ago but thanks.

Well some are either ran by churches or are not for profit places. Not all of them are for profit, we have one of each in our town.

thanks.

you're not one of those dopey kids who thinks michael moore is a maker of documentaries, are you?

Yes Sicko is one of my favorite documentaries, just behind Borat.

I have to make some time and see Sicko. Everyone tells me what an eye-opener it is.

Talking point? nice try.

I come from a family of medical professionals. My opinions are derived from their experiences. But for you - try Google and search for 'doctor shortage + malpractice insurance' or anything similar. There are entire counties in some states that have no OB/GYN practitioners as a direct result of high-malpractice insurance costs that have been driven up by court litigation.