To navigate our health-care system here in Nova Scotia, you must be tough. Recently, I got a first-hand glimpse at what it takes, simply to try to get a prescription renewed when you no longer have a family physician.
I live in Wilmot, so I can either go to Soldier’s Memorial Hospital emergency department or to an outpatient clinic in Berwick. Having tried Berwick clinic on Jan. 11 to no avail, and Soldier’s Memorial a few days later, again with no luck, I opted to try the Berwick clinic again on Jan.18. I was told to get there early because there are limited spots and they go fast.
I arrived at 9:15 a.m., and discovered I was seventh in line. Five men and a grandmother with two young children were ahead of me. The grandmother was second in line. One of the children with her — a girl about 5 — was wearing boots, snow pants and a jacket, but no hat. She sat on a cold, concrete curb waiting impatiently. Her cheeks were bright red, her head was full of cold and her little nose ran like a tap. The other child — a boy about two — was weak and could barely stand. He cried out loud, he whimpered and he hung on tightly to his grandmother, wanting her to pick him up. The grandmother did her best to comfort him. All the while, they huddled in front of the locked clinic door. Did I mention it was -13C that day?
The rest of us stood stamping our feet and swinging our arms to keep from freezing as more and more people arrived. At 9:59 a.m., the door finally opened. The receptionist, the nurse and the doctor then all got down to business. They were efficient and professional. My beef is not with them, but with the bureaucracy that runs this broken system.
I felt disgust and sadness over this experience. Dogs are treated with more dignity than we were last Saturday morning as we tried to seek medical attention. Please, someone, fix this.
Jeannine Parker, Wilmot