LETTERS: P.E.I. readers weigh in on health-care concerns

Having been married to a nurse, I have always had a keen interest in good health care. Here are some of my observations about and suggestions for the health system in P.E.I.

P.E.I. should accelerate the concept of having a number of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, clerks, etc. become one medical practice. This allows staff to have time off (for vacations, health issues, etc.) and be recharged while patients continue to be covered off by other staff in that practice. Hopefully this would cut down on staff burnout.

Reduce the demands that are placed on health staff daily of an administrative nature such as  seeing a patient requiring a sick leave slip for their employer .

In a time when it is difficult to get doctors, why does the medical field and the government demand that foreign doctors be put through rigorous, expensive testing? It seems that if these people were trained in the western world or in other countries  that have a good reputation and they are in good standing, there should be more flexibility in finding ways to put them to work in some compacity to help lessen the load on our health-care system. I sometimes wonder how Canadian doctors would react to being required to be retested every five years or so.

On a related point, I have heard comments about doctors requesting tests (ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, etc.) only to be told by the testing area that these tests were not necessary. Can you imagine how a doctor would feel having to go back to a patient and explain that his request had been denied .

On another issue, it is about time that Health P.E.I. be required to conduct serious exit interviews when individuals leave the health field. Hopefully, this could be a source for finding ways to address shortcomings.

As for our politicians, it is time to let the people know that we must limit P.E.I. to two hospitals and staff them properly. This, together with replacing single-doctor practices with multiple doctor clinics, could lead to a much better delivery of health care.

Dennis O’Brien,
Cornwall, P.E.I.

As I was listening to the news on CBC Compass, they had a story about this gentleman having to wait in excruciating pain to have a hip replaced and being told he had to wait more than a year on the Island here. He was in such pain that he used his line of credit to go to Montreal at a cost of $25,000 to get it done. To put it mildly, I was mad. I thought it was very unfair.

I know from the past of some veterans that served their country and put their life in danger having to wait a long time because they did not have the resources to pay out-of-province travel to get surgery due to the waiting time.

I think they should treat us all the same, regardless if we have money or not and not being punished if we cannot afford it.

In my humble opinion, P.E.I.’s health-care shortfall of specialists should not be on the backs of patients and certain criteria could be arranged to defray the cost of travelling out of province to get relief from their pain. Most of these people have paid taxes all their life. They do deserve better instead of just rich people paying to go out of province to get their surgery done.

Simon Lemay,
North Rustico