If I were to
take a very literal approach to the title of the documentary The Waiting Room, I would
compare it to my own experience in the waiting room at the Grace Hospital. My sister
had a bruised foot after a beer keg fell on her foot during a particularly exuberant round at the Beer Olympics.
The wait was
long, especially at 1 in the morning on a Friday night, but not nearly as long
as some of the patients who had to wait at Highlands Hospital in The Waiting Room.
And,
unlike Highland Hospital, there was no bill waiting for us at the end
either.
While wait times
are bound to happen, in terms of
health care between Canada and the U.S., the similarities are ending there.
In Canada, we
have the Canada Health Act, administered by the Federal government in order for provinces to receive funding for their own public health insurance:
“It is hereby declared that the primary objective
of Canadian health care policy is to protect, promote and restore the physical
and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable
access to health services without financial or other barriers.” (http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-6/).
It makes sure that
Canadians aren’t charged additional fees by the province or by doctors.
Meanwhile, in the U.S.,
they have two public health insurances: Medicare and Medicaid (http://www.medicare.gov/ and http://medicaid.gov/). If you aren’t over 65
(Medicare) or have low income (Medicaid), you can apply for private health
insurance, which can get expensive and doesn’t necessarily cover all your
costs.
Hence The
Waiting Room’s depressing payment scene near the end.
Yet, this is what
makes this documentary compelling. You’re watching and at times, frustrated, moved, and saddened by the doctors, nurses, and patients who deal
with the politics of waiting for open beds, private vs. public clinics, and
being at a loss on how to deal with their sicknesses.
During the panel
after the movie, Dr. Anne Durcan from the
Mount Carmel Clinic said she couldn’t imagine working in the hospital, and I agree with her. But the Highland Hospital nurses held their own, with attitudes you'd see in a Hollywood film, keeping everyone's spirits up and everything in order.
Even the patients, despite waiting long hours,
added to the flow of the film, creating interesting dynamics and memorable
scenes. The narrative of the documentary moved through several different
people: a young couple facing an expensive surgery, a father worried over his
daughter’s swollen throat, and a man addicted to crystal meth. It would be hard
to determine what makes a story more compelling than another in a hospital, but
the ones showcased in the documentary kept me interested till the very end.
And even though the documentary didn’t give much context at times, it was revealing in a way that placed no blame either on doctors or patients- not even on the system, which is still lagging.
I'm very thankful and fortunate that when my sister and I left the Grace Hospital that morning, she was given crutches and a prescription for pain medication, instead of a bill she couldn't afford.
