The state of the health system is “frightening”, according to the CMA

News 17 July, 2017

QMI agency

Monday, 17 July 2017 16:59

UPDATE
Monday, 17 July 2017 17:03

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OTTAWA| The state of the universal healthcare system of Canada is “disturbing, indeed frightening,” has advanced the canadian medical Association (CMA) in an open letter addressed to prime minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers of the different provinces and territories.

In the text published Monday on its website on the occasion of the Council of the federation, which brings together the premiers, Edmonton, CMA has called leaders from across the country to think about an in-depth reform of the health system, considered to be ineffective.

According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund – a private foundation american health sector, published last Friday, the canadian health care system ranks ninth out of 11 countries, just ahead of France and the United States, but far behind those of the United Kingdom and Australia.

“Every day, we hear about the ways in which we fail to meet our commitments to the most vulnerable people, including seniors,” said the CMA, which says, among other challenges, the ageing of the population and the hospitals are overflowing with patients “that could and should be treated differently”.

The rising cost of health care is also a concern to the organization. According to the canadian Institute for health information, the bill of health care has reached 216 billion 2014 – $ 152-billion dollars in public spending. This amount represents a total of 3863 $ by Canadian. In Quebec, the bill was 3396 $ per person in 2014.

According to the AMC, a part of the money invested in health is downright wasted. “Why is it that someone is waiting in a hospital bed at a cost of 842 $ per day so that we could provide beds for long-term care to $ 126 per day or home care for $ 42 per day?” wrote the organization.

“We know and recognize all that our system is not sustainable and that something needs to change”, concluded the organization, which calls for reform of the health system, starting with creating a national strategy for seniors.