Editor:
Re: MP tweets from hospital, June 23.
My family and I were very interested when we read your article in the Peace Arch News regarding MP Dianne Watts’ recent surgery for a broken ankle.
While we obviously hope the best for her in her recovery, we found it interesting that she received surgery so quickly for her ankle injury. The reason we find it so interesting is my 72-year-old mother also broke her ankle on Sunday in a very similar incident. Unfortunately, she did not get her surgery until late Thursday afternoon, almost 96 hours after her fall.
While we obviously do not know the specifics of Ms. Watts’ injury, which may have necessitated receiving surgery so quickly, it did raise some uncomfortable questions for us in regards to how long it took for my mother to receive her surgery.
Is there favoritism at play in the system? Are we providing more rapid care for members of government? I believe this situation requires more scrutiny than I can provide.
Over the past weeks, I learned more about the health system due to my efforts in trying to get answers for my mom and trying to get her into the operating room to relieve her pain.
The main thing I learned is a widespread belief that the system is broken. This message was delivered to us by both practitioners and administrators within Fraser Health. While we hear this commentary often in the media, it doesn’t hit home until you attempt to navigate the system yourself.
While we continue to throw money into the system, we seem to not press for real change within the system. To me, it seemed like no two people could provide the same answers in terms of policies and procedures.
Our problems go beyond money; they lie at the feet of the people we pay to provide and run a health-care system that should be second-to-none in the world.
Unfortunately, they only seem interested in maintaining the status quo and advocating for more money for salaries and benefits.
My hope is perhaps you can at least provide some insight into how a MP gets surgery right away, while a 72-year-old taxpayer waits for four days.
David Prodanovic, Surrey