Feature Article December 4, 2002
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Health Care Rejuvenation: Chretien's legacy, Romanow's values. Canada's renewal of health care. This week our country held its collective breath waiting for the Romanow Report. Comic relief was provided by Chretiens poor communications consultant when she called the American president a moron (the less said about that the better). The tabIing of Romanow's recommendations for health care showed just how different we are from our southern neighbours. While we are starving our military of funds, we are starting to put more cash back into health care, which is more important to more people. Everyone will have to access the health care system at some time in their life, and the quality of that care will determine the quality of their life. It's a much better use of resources to put them into CAT scan and MRI machines than in bombs for Baghdad.
As a child of the military and a disabled person, I think Im qualified to use my personal experience to shed light on why health care should be a priority over military spending. For a year I have been waiting to see a neurologist. Kingston, however, has lost not just one but five neurologists in that time. My family physician finally gave up trying to get me into a neurologist locally, and asked me where I would prefer to go--Ottawa or Toronto--to see a specialist. He says it will take another 6 months to a year before I'll be able to see one in those cities. In the meantime, my ailment (and I call it an ailment because my doctor doesn't know what it is I have) is worsening daily and my life has become much more restricted. I want to know what, if anything, can be done about it, and how the ailment will affect the rest of my life. All I know about what is happening is that it's serious. Period. Period?
Meanwhile, some of my family are still in the armed forces, and they see their jobs getting more dangerous because of the outdated equipment they use to make this country safe and secure. Thank God none of them is at the sharp end of the gun anymore. However, the forces biggest problem is also health-related. Working in war zones trying to create peace in some of the most lawless places on earth can destroy minds and cause serious problems for families. When youve been to hell and back, even the toughest people are affected. Emotional and mental problems are seen as a weakness of personality, so soldiers hide their problems - and turn to alcohol and drugs for self-medication which, of course, makes problems worse. Many have left the military. The best and brightest have other options, and when they leave, they weaken the forces because they take their skills with them.
I don't know what the ramifications will be for the Romanow Report, but it's a step in the right direction. I just hope it will help more people to get more treatment for whatever problem they have. Health care has been a cornerstone for the type of society we are, and it needs all the help it can get.
Janis Lantz has roots in the upper Ottawa Valley, and has lived most of her life in Eastern Ontario. An art historian, her rants appear from time to time in the News.
