Canadian Healthcare Meltdown: Don’t Come to ER!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Wesley J. Smith

The ERs in London, Ontario are so strained, people with serious medical issues are being urged not to come. From the story:

Patients in the London area are being told to think twice about whether their problem really merits an ER visit. The London Health Science’s Centre emergency departments are “extraordinarily busy”, with both University and Victoria hospitals experiencing high patient loads. “Our first priority is the health and well-being of our patients and we will continue to maintain high quality patient care under these circumstances,” the LHSC said in a release. “It is also our priority that the most critically ill are seen in a timely manner.” People with non-life threatening emergencies are asked to go to their family doctor or walk-in clinic… the rest

Canada rations care by restricting access to required care. There is an 18+ week wait for serious surgery and weeks, perhaps months, for necessary diagnostic scans–even for those suffering serious symptoms. And now, London’s ER/Urgent care system is in meltdown. This is what happens in single payer systems when money grows tight.