I did not have an easy time getting a doctor to attend to problems with my hand after suffering a dislocated finger, so I’m going to summarize information I wish I had known about Alberta Health Care at the time of my injury. Sharing the information will save someone else time, I’m sure.
- Pharmacists are good health information resources. I have discovered that some pharmacists can now prescribe and all pharmacists can advise you on non-prescription medications or refer you to the most appropriate treatment location.
- There is an online tool provided by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta listing doctors. There is a category of doctors who accept new patients. If you already have a doctor, have a look at their profile and history.
- Anyone in Alberta with a health concern can call HEALTHLink Toll-free: 1-866-408-5465.
- Walk-in clinics are available.
- Educate yourself using valuable online resources. There is no need to suffer silently; keep asking for help until you obtain the relief that you need.
- Don’t give up asking for help. Stay positive and believe there is help for you. Don’t let depression stop you from seeking the help you deserve. If you start to believe you are not important enough to have care, visit or revisit the Declaration of Human Rights.
I thank the pharmacist at Thriftway Drugs in Lethbridge for their advice and assistance.
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A moral question surrounds health care: is health care a right or a privilege?
I think we need an online survey, forum, blog that is outside of government control as many people are afraid of consequences to the delivery of services for themselves or relatives and they may also be afraid of consequences to their own careers or the careers of their relatives. My sister has a son who has missed 4 months of school waiting for tests and specialists. This is unacceptable. I have heard many other stories from many others. These stories are not being told because of fears that people have. This particular doctor also said, “if you are not satisfied with me as a family doctor, you can seek help from someone else.” we all know how hard it is to get a family doctor let alone a good one and we also do not want to get bumped to the end of the line. Doctors also document and these records are shared. What kind of service or where would one end up in the line if one complained. Many people consider the consequences that may follow if they were to complain and want their identity concealed for these reasons. When I looked around, the government tells people how and where they should complain – Alberta Health Services. We will never get the true stories of the people of Alberta on their concerns with the delivery of services communicating through a government department that delivers the most important service that will truly affect their life or the lives of their loved ones.
I am an educator and my wife is a nurse and I cannot identify myself as I am afraid of the consequences that this may have on myself, my wife, and the delivery of health services for my nephew.
Thank you for your comment and suggestion for a more open medium for discourse. There certainly needs to be a plan of action for people standing in a health care line that has no one available to serve them, or is being served by one you don’t trust. A patient should have some rights over the type of information that is shared between doctors.
The lucky person who has access to a doctor or a specialist can quickly become the unlucky individual without one when they lose one to circumstances such as retirement, a move or a sudden death or illness in self or family. There are rural areas without a community doctor and those communities that have one can quickly become one without a doctor for the reasons just expressed. So, the problem of not being able to access timely health care services affects many Canadians.
Sounds like both your sister and your nephew need a strong and fearless advocate and educator. What better way to educate your nephew than to show him what you can do to advocate for the health care system that you wish he could have?
You don’t have to do it alone. Have you heard of the Council of Canadians? Through grass root activists, chapters of the council work and achieve success at the community, provincial and national level, building the kind of Canada we want. In their communities, chapters promote national, provincial and local campaigns, act as local watchdogs and promote social and economic justice on a day-to-day basis.
What better time is there to get information flowing than election time? Canadians should be demanding timely vital health care services for all. A wait of four months to obtain specialist care is too long. The necessity for health care should not cost our youth their education. Let’s all try to do something about a failing health care system that Canada was once proud of.