They can't (or won't) fix health care

HRM Resident

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Mar 18, 2023, 2:57:12 PM3/18/23

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Has anyone noticed that all the "fix health care"
spending announcements spitting out of the provincial
government won't do anything until we are all dead?

For example, a new doctor school in Cape Breton
and a better nursing school in Antigonish? You can't
grind out a doctor in 2 years, even if you create a
dozen places like the Dalhousie medical school.

6-7 years ago, I called my MLA to whine (previous government)
because I was on the "Need a doctor list then." He had all
the talking points but slipped up one. He said, "We can't
overdo it because we'll have too many in 20-25 years."

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HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 18, 2023, 4:09:07 PM3/18/23

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As I said before, the present situation was foreseen more than
20-25 years ago. I remember Dal Med School in the 80s fought for years
to get 20 odd new student positions approved. That was not
nearly enough to meet the foreseeable needs. Hence our current
predicament.

I guess it was preferred to have a "temporary" shortage while
us boomers passed through than to have a surplus of medical
professionals after. It looks like they got what they wanted.

lucr...@florence.it

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Mar 19, 2023, 7:55:27 AM3/19/23

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They need to take away all the silly and the expensive regulations
they have generated over the years. If I was a young doctor and
wanted to come here, I would find it very daunting and at that stage,
too expensive.

James Warren

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Mar 19, 2023, 8:03:11 AM3/19/23

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That would be part of a short term solution. The problem was caused
by lack of long term planning.

HRM Resident

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Mar 19, 2023, 10:20:34 AM3/19/23

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James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> That would be part of a short term solution. The problem was caused
> by lack of long term planning.
>

Mostly yes. Governments who ignored the 'pig in the python'
boomer surge that was predictable from 1965 onward.

However, another stunned group was 'Doctor's Nova Scotia.' The
doctor's 'union.' They progressively worked with successive governments
to collaboratively add red tape to become a doctor or nurse in NS.
Why? Because they were not overworked until around 2000-2005.

Many had open appointments they filled by telling us to bring our
kids back for a re-check on infected ears or sore throats after taking
antibiotics for 10 days. That took 30 seconds and filled a slot. Got
them an extra $30-40 for looking in an ear with one of those magnified
light things.

They fought tooth and nail to keep Nurse Practitioners out. No
letting pharmacists do anything besides count pills. So now, they
are run off their feet and unwinding the mess they helped create,
which is taking a lot of time.

It'll get fixed, but none of us will live to see it.

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HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 19, 2023, 10:47:12 AM3/19/23

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All of that is true. The CMA also made it nearly impossible for foreign
trained doctors to practice in Canada. It was/is a tightly closed club.

HRM Resident

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Mar 19, 2023, 1:30:21 PM3/19/23

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James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> All of that is true. The CMA also made it nearly impossible for foreign
> trained doctors to practice in Canada. It was/is a tightly closed
> club.

Mike spelled it out quite well in an earlier post. We lived in a
special time because of WW II. Rarely has humanity seen prolonged
periods of peace and prosperity. I mention this because everyone
under 60-70 has never known tough times. Unfortunately, those working
today think it's normal to have everything they see . . . including
most of us boomers.

Why do I mention this in the context of health care? Because
everyone wants a "work-life" balance. They (and we) want a 4-day
workweek if we're still in the workforce.

They want a big house by the time they are 30. They want to avoid
working shifts, weekends, being on call, etc. Everything came easy to
all of us. Doctors and nurses today are burning out because of the
unrealistic expectations WE have gave them. Who can blame them for
not wanting everything I mentioned.

They don't want to experience hard times any more than we did.
Sadly, the easy times are gone for a long time. It's the nature of
our species to be lead by autocrats and dictators. It's not easy
being 25-40 in 2023. I don't envy them.

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HRM Resident

James Warren

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Mar 19, 2023, 1:44:38 PM3/19/23

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Me neither. Yes, we grew up in boom times. They're gone now. Today's
expectations are lower than ours.

Yes, all of our civilized history we lived under emperors, kings and
autocrats, often religions. Many of us still yearn for those days. This
places democracies at risk as we can now see around the world.