Are these the kind of choices offered by socialized, state run health care systems?
The province of Quebec lacks a medical helicopter system, common in the United States to airlift stricken patients to major trauma centers. Montreal's top head trauma doctor said Friday that may have played a role in Richardson's death.
WhiteHouse Watching
Probably a factor. And we want this HA.
Mr Ed
False.
Natasha Richardson said she was fine, and walked away.
Canada's medical system, with all its faults, is one of the best in the world - far better than the US one.
A friend of mine who was crushed by a train in a mine was airlifted by a medical helicopter in the province of Quebec - thus saving his life.
bash
"Our system isn't set up for traumas and doesn't match what's available in other Canadian cities," said Tarek.
My American city also has no trauma unit or medical helicopter system. No difference...I too would have to be driven to another city for specialized care.
IceBreaker27
I don't think that failure to have a helicopter rises to the level of medical malpractice. The mere fact that it could have made a difference (or that it is common elsewhere) does not mean it is negligence.
Mumof5
A "medical helicopter system" as you call it is also "common in Canada" (I suspect as common as it is in the US) but just as is the case in the US it is not everywhere in Canada. Both Canada and the US have areas that are not usually serviced by medical helicopters.
tom4bucs
I wonder - had they had the foresight of the severity of this case
to charter a helicopter
steal the paramedic crew (and compensate them for their time)
fly to a Trauma Center
fly the crew back to their ambulance
- which would also have been the helicopter's home
probably in under a hour - tops
I hate being a backseat driver
wendy c
So.. you seriously believe that any place in the world, which does not have a helicopter within 5 minutes, is committing malpractice?
The woman was SKIING, which by the very nature of it.. involves a rural and often remote location. The sport itself is KNOWN to involve risks.
An ambulance was called, and her choice was to refuse. A bad choice, and my heart goes out.
But.. your attempt to distort a tragic accident to "illustrate" the problems of "socialized" medicine.. is pathetic and false.
Many countries don't have hospitals or even doctors, much less helicopters. We make the choices of where we are, and sometimes.. we also take the consequences.
The death of a human being is not a political game.
John de Witt
Possibly, but not much of one. Also, if we were to concede the point, it certainly wouldn't argue against the system. The helicopter systems common in the US are so overused that they likely lose more people in crashes than they save in timely interventions. They're more a marketing gimmick than a real life-saver in the majority of instances. It's a problem that gets a low level of discussion in emergency medical circles but none at all elsewhere.
northernhick
No, what would have been medical malpractice would have been if she had been forced into a helicopter or ambulance despite her refusals of medical treatment. (No, actually, sorry - not medical malpractice; just assault and battery.)
It didn't seem like a particularly severe incident. Hence why a helicopter wasn't apparently necessary under the circumstances. Mont Tremblant is not extraordinarily remote; the first time the ambulance was called, the response time was about 20 minutes, and when the ambulance got there, Ms. Richardson refused to be treated. It was foolish, but it was her right to do so. So they did nothing. Rightly.
When, a couple hours later, the resort General Manager, over Ms. Richardon's protests, called an ambulance again, the response time was 9 minutes. Not half bad, by any standard. There was no reason to believe that there was anything seriously wrong until the paramedics arrived the second time, examined her, and found indications of a serious condition.
The time taken for transportation was a delay, certainly, but it seems inaccurate and disingenuous to suggest that a 40-minute drive killed her after she was walking around for three hours after the accident.
pachl@sbcglobal.net
In the U.S. the doctor would have insisted on checking her out, just to be on the safe side.
Point two: the dirty little secret about socialized medicine is that it is rationed, in so many ways. For example I am living in the Czech Republic. When I had an emergency on a weekend, I went to the indisputably best hospital, the national army hospital.
Even though I arrived in an ambulance, they acted like I was just some guy whining. I needed a simple procedure called a blood patch, where they just take some of your blood and inject it into the area around your spinal cord where you are leaking fluid (this was after an operation). In Chicago, I had THE SAME procedure done ON CHRISTMAS DAY. But here, they just told me there was no one available, so I could come back Monday if I wished.
WTF??? I came in an ambulance, and they told me to just leave. That's the kind of treatment you get once there is no clear profit motive.
I used to live in DuPage county, outside of Chicago. There are more MRI machines in DuPage county than in all of Canada.
THAT.... should tell you about the quality of care you'll get with socialized medicine.
Orignal From: Was Natasha Richardson a victim of Canadian Medical Malpractice?
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