Hinterland and Healthcare

We are finally getting somewhere with my arm/shoulder issue, which I will simply call arm from here on, for not only is it shorter to type, but it is also a little more accurate, at least in terms of where the pain is located. There is still some uncertainty about the specific cause.

Now, I want to wax pedantic and talk more about our health care situation, especially within our local geographic context. I do this because there were recently some comments that revealed an understandably incomplete appreciation of our local situation. 

Please bear with me.

Canadian healthcare funds doctors and hospitals. I have had two surgeries and three cystoscopies this year and not had to worry for one moment about the cost. It has been the same with Sue's ambulance ride and surgery. However, for the most part, pharmaceuticals or ancillary services such as dentistry are not covered, and some people carry extra private insurance through via their employment. 

Physio is mostly not government funded here in Ontario. In our town, however, the hospital does have a physiotherapy department, and being in hospital it does not charge a fee. If you can get a referral there, it's a good deal, and they give you great care. I did get a referral, but I had expected that the wait time would be three months for the demand is great, but I was lucky enough to be seen within two weeks. (I possibly got a quick referral because I am a senior without any extra private coverage.)

I still haven't had my X-Ray and Ultrasound, but now we know that the delay has been due to an atypical malfunction. Apparently, they called the very day after my referral and left a voice message. Well, I was unaware of either the phone call or the message. It was either a technological issue or human error and either on my end or their end. Who knows? But it happened, and me being me, I can guess that it was, somehow, my fault.? However, I now have an appointment for next week.

After yesterday's physio session and the concomitant poking and prodding, my arm was sorer than usual last night. However, I managed to sleep just as well or, as the case may be, just as poorly as ever. 

Now. permit me to explain our geography and how it can relate to healthcare availability.

First, I need to help you to understand what our hospital is and where it is.

It's called a hospital, but it is largely an ER along with radiology and physio as I have already described. It is not the scale of institution that most people think of when they think of hospitals.

Onward I now proceed to unfold the scintillating geography part of the lesson. 

Below is a GMaps screen capture of us (red circle) and the region to the west, extending about 150km/100mi (blue arrow). The green represents forest. As you can see, we are on the edge of a very rural, sparsely populated hinterland; even most of the dots closest to us represent only very small hamlets. There is no white, to speak of, showing evenly settled farmland. It's just not that kind of region.

Carleton Place now has an estimated 12 500 inhabitants due to recent growth and is the most populated community within the map area. The two north-south red arrows show the line of about five other significant towns on the fringes of Ottawa. A few of these were somewhat larger than Carleton Place until our very recent growth. The blue arrow extending westward for about 150k/100m leads to the blue circle which is the next western major town. However, Bancroft is not really that major, for it has only about 4000 permanent residents although it services a recreational area, and its summer population is much larger. 

The point is that we are on the edge of a rather unpopulated region. So no, there is not a clinic that one can conveniently drop into for an X-Ray (unless one wishes to drive into the city, which is off the map to the east. Sometimes, we need to wait for a medical service for just a little bit. If I need a CT Scan or need to see my urologist, I must travel a half hour south to Smiths Falls. A few years ago when I required hernia surgery, I was sent to another hospital and surgeon in Perth, also a half hour away. If we require even higher-end services, such as Sue's recent, emergency appendectomy, we are sent eastward into the big hospitals in Ottawa. (In fact we are going there tomorrow to see specialists in the infectious disease centre. Doubtless, I will report on that in due course.)

Given the regional population density our health care system works pretty well. Urgent needs, such as Sue's appendectomy, get dealt with pretty promptly. Meanwhile, an arm X-Ray for just chronic soreness might take a few days or even a week, assuming no communication hiccups as there were in my case. Of course, there are flaws, but, from what I read, every health care system in every country has its share of problems. My distinct impression, as much as we might complain from time to time, very few Canadians want to swap it for a different system. 

So that was me reverting to my former pedagogical self. I hope it made sense, for it was tough to organize and explain clearly and succinctly in a short blog post.