It's not fair to criticise -- you do what you have to do when your health is involved -- but going to the States rather than staying in Canada throws into question the Newfoundland and Canadian health-care system.
If it's not good enough for the Premier ... .
8 comments:
Ever occur to you that it's about privacy?
I watched the political shows last night and they said they will find out where and update....perhaps he didn't want media at his door, standing outside his house, etc.
That's a really good point!!!
It's not privacy. He could have easily travelled to another Canadian province for the surgery, if the specialists in Newfoundland were not available or experienced enough.
I view this as an insult to our national healthcare overall and a misrepresentation to the public that good care is not available in Canada. They just had an Ontario cardiology specialist on CBC and he said basically all cardiac care is handled quickly and all procedures performed in Canada.
My question is: Who is paying the bills? Who paid for the long distance calls/flights to the U.S. specialists?
BTW it is lot warmer in many parts of the United States at this time of the year. I just hope that when I need an operation I will also be able to recovery in the sun.
First of all Danny Williams is wealthy enough that he donates his government salary to charity. Second, I have been waiting for surgery since last June. My problem has now become a major problem and I still have not heard when addmitting will take place. This is taking place in Alberta. Ontario's Health Care is also in a shambles. When I left in 1999 to work overseas (employment another problem in this country) Health Care in Canada was in a healthy state, now it is as sick as a dog. The reason for health care being in the sad state it is, is due to government making it bad enough so the general public will want to institute the American system. Take a look at health care in Norway, Germany and France which is public. They operate one hundred percent better than we do. France and Germany have much larger populations than we do. Oh, one more thing. Don't label me Con partisan..you would be wrong.
David from NL writes: Ummmm....there's a fundamental difference between a private citizen choosing to get the best medical help he can afford, and the elected premier of a province who, when put in a position to back up his own rhetoric, shows zero confidence in a health care system which his government oversees.
Danny Williams is the elected leader of a province where the sorry state of health care is killing people, and where it is illegal for anyone other than government to do anything about it.
It's sort of like hiring a guy as a security guard for your business, and then finding out he's actually an arsonist.
Hey, what that guy does at home is strictly his own business, right?
What was he thinking? Rick Mercer and 22 minutes are going to have a field day with this tidbit.
All jabs aside, however, heart surgery is a serious matter and I hope he comes through it and recovers well.
Nobody wishes him ill.
But it serves as a reminder that Williams is a Conservative, and that the Conservatives - including in his home province - have done everything the can to undermine public health care.
It also serves as a reminder that in the Conservative future (and the present Conservative Newfoundland) the rich can get heart surgery but the poor cannot.
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