Petitions will be taken to Queen's Park on November 22 and presented there. This is just one more step in our movement to keep our Urgent Care open 24/7. So many stories to be told.
Our public discussion on healthcare on November 30th at the Leisureplex Banquet hall at 6:30 pm will give all of us an opportunity to talk about the healthcare in our town and what we can do to ensure that we have the healthcare we need to prevent loss of life.
For many people a ride down the QEW is not a problem, that is until it is. Just call an ambulance you say. Absolutely when in doubt about your care, or when the person is not responsive call emergency care. We've all got that message before dial 911 tell the person responding what is happening and they will send out the proper personnel to help. Here's hoping there is an ambulance that is quickly available. We know that seconds count. We also know that emergency rooms get filled up quickly and that they do their best to triage the sickest or most urgent first.
Part of the reason for having urgent care rooms to begin with was to take the pressure off emergency rooms, it was another resource for people that may still be able to respond to questions but have had an accident and it is unknown what other damage may have been done, or it may be that you require stitches and have not been able to stop the bleeding, or you may be having a hard time breathing but aren't sure exactly what is happening.
I find that many of us self diagnose most of what is going on with us but once we get to a point where nothing has helped and we have reached the end of our rope that is when we seek care. If we have not been able to get on a Doctors roll then we must rely on walk-in clinics or urgent care centers.
Why now when the health system says there is a shortage of personnel do they want us to clog our already over capacity emergency rooms and our ambulances. Should we not have trained personnel in our own communities that can help to stabilize us to either return home or to get to emergency in a safe manner.
Let's face it we may be able to wait until morning, but often we are woken or called into a sick parent or child's room because they are having an issue and we are in no real position to diagnose what is happening at that moment in time.
There is no walk-in clinic, there is no Doctor on call, the system wants me to call Tele-health or some other phone resource but often all of this takes time away from getting the quickest help in the moment.
How many times have I been asked recently if every healthcare professional that was let go during the pandemic was returned to work? I don't know that answer to this, but someone should. The government has agreed to now fast track educating more trained personnel; that's helpful but not helpful in this moment of crisis I am in right now.
Healthcare is saying we will have more private clinics perform surgeries, or take on new patients or perform the work that should be done in public health. If we can afford to pay for this can we not afford to pay these same people the proper wages to work in public health.
I understand there are no easy answers, but there are answers and the public deserve to be a part of this discussion, it is our lives or our parents lives or our children's lives that are at stake. We need community access to healthcare, we need to be able to be seen in our own communities. It is the community that helped to build and fund Douglas Memorial and it is our public healthcare system that provides trained personnel.
Attend the healthcare discussion on November 30th at the Leisureplex Banquet Hall at 6:30 - let's make sure we speak up for those that may not be able to attend or for those that are too young to know the difference in what is possible when we all work together.
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