Hopefully it isn’t too late to spread this message. Oprah is having a special on the health care debate that is raging in the US. Michael Moore will be on the show, and so will representatives from insurance company. All sides will be highlighted. Tune in; it sounds like it will be interesting!
I recently renewed my membership to The New Democratic Party of Canada. I am very proud of this fact! If I were an American, I would probably be crucified for being part of such a left-wing party. I’m proud to live in a country that doesn’t put you down for supporting a party that supports socialized health care, gay rights/marriage, strong environmental solutions, equality for women/minorities, and strong social programs to help alleviate poverty.
Here’s a link to their position on public/socialized/universal health care.
I have seen so many blog posts/comments and discussions at allnurses.com that are very much against universal health care. I thought I would start a list of reasons I love Canada’s health care system. This will be added to on a continual basis as I think of new reasons or examples.
1. Currently on my unit there is a homeless woman who found refuge at a homeless shelter. The nurses who assessed her at the shelter were worried about her condition and sent her to the hospital. She was dirty, weak, malnourished, and on death’s door.
There is also a very rich businessman who was sent to our unit after many weeks of traveling Canada and the U.S. for opinions on his condition. Every surgeon told him to go to our unit, to our surgeon. He is considered the best of the best.
Both of these people had the exact same condition; a deadly cancer that was slowly killing them and needed to be removed. Both of them received the same surgery from the same surgeon. Both of them received the same care from nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, residents etc. They lived in identical hospital rooms next to each other and recovered at the same rate.
Both patients walked out of the hospital on their feet. The wealthy business man (back in his suit and tie) went back to his mansion and luxurious life, and the homeless woman went to her new apartment with homecare nurses put in place and adequate government funding for her to survive (away from the streets). The social safety net had successfully caught her.
The treatment they had cost approximately $500,000. If health care were privatized, the homeless woman would never have been able to receive the surgery. She would have died on the streets.
When it comes to health care, we are all treated as equals. Some will go home to mansions, some will go home to crappy apartments. However, we will all be treated with respect and dignity when we are sick.
I strongly believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.
2. Hospitals in a socialized health care system are not-for-profit. This is an extremely important detail for many reasons. However, for number two on my list, I want to focus on the idea that in a not-for-profit hospital, health care professionals (read: nurses) are not forced to become customer service agents.
Our hospitals are functional. They aren’t overly “pretty” or filled with pleasantries to attract “customers.” Hospitals here are there to serve the needs of the community, without having to stoop to gimmicks like having food courts in the lobby so that patients will choose that hospital first!
Our professionals are truly professionals and can focus on executing their skills, rather than focusing on whether or not patients like them. We are not insulted by being presented with satisfaction surveys or “customer” complaints. When I’m putting a tube through your nose, poking you with needles, and shoving Foleys in your bladder, is it really an appropriate time to ask if you are happy with me?
I’m not even directly affected by the American system of treating patients as consumers, but I am continually insulted by it. The idea that well-educated, skilled, brilliant professionals can be lowered to feeling like a fast-food worker, is horrifying*. Does an architect, lawyer, or manager submit themselves to satisfaction surveys? NO! They let their work stand for itself. Nurses should the same.
I have never worked within the American system, but I am in love with the Canadian system. I feel it is a much more mature, humane system that treats its patients and employees with respect. The power is balanced between all individuals, rather than just the patient, because we all pay for and use the same system. I know that if I am ever sick, I will receive the same great treatment that I give every day.
*I don’t think fast-food workers should be made to feel like lesser citizens, but unfortunately (and unfairly), they are. Please, for the love of god, be nice to fast-food workers. You have no idea how tough their job is if you have never been there. They are continually treated as lesser citizens, and that is NOT right! I just wanted to clear that up.
