A new report from the Angus Reid Institute has revealed two out of five Canadians were unable to access essential health-care services over the past six months.
The study also found that Canadian confidence in the health-care system is very low. The report from the organization that commissions research and opinion polls for Canadians said confidence in the health-care system is lower right now in Canada than it is in the United States.
Nearly 3,500 Canadians and Americans were polled for the report.
Several people in Moncton were not surprised at all by the report and expressed their lack of confidence in the system.
"I believe the level of care in the province of Ontario, as well as across the country, has deteriorated markedly in the past 10 years," said Bruce Fenton, who was visiting from Toronto. "Wait times have increased significantly, not just for emergency services but for surgery, as well as simple doctoring."
Fenton's wife Margaret has been waiting months to see a dermatologist.
"Whenever I'm sick and I want to go see my doctor, I can't. It takes weeks and I'm sick today, I'm not sick two weeks from now,” she said. “Then I have to go to the emergency [room] and take up an emergency [room] spot and wait for hours and hours.”
Peter Muirhead, another Toronto resident, doesn't have much confidence in the health-care system here or in Ontario.
"Well between [New Brunswick Premier Blaine] Higgs and [Ontario Premier Doug] Ford, [my confidence is] not very high,” said Muirhead. “I think they'll take these poll numbers and spin it so it's an argument for privatization, which I think is absolute nonsense.”
Doctor Mark MacMillan, the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, isn't surprised that 40 per cent of Canadians haven't been able to access essential health-care services in the last six months, according to the Angus Reid report.
"For anybody who's been watching the news for the past year or two, you can see that we are in the midst of a very difficult human health resources crisis. We are struggling to keep things moving forward and that's not a new thing, that's not a surprise. While seeing those numbers are disheartening, they are not surprising," said MacMillan.
David Horton also expressed his lack of confidence.
"The level of service is obviously low. Wait times are high. I've been very lucky that I haven't needed it [essential health services], but at some point that'll change. I think something has to be done about it, but I'm not sure what the answer is," said Horton.
So what can be done to boost confidence in health care?
MacMillan said it'll take time and a conservative effort from all parties involved.
"From politicians and government right down to the individual physician and nurse working in the clinic," said MacMillan. "It's going to take good collaboration and communication between all these parties to enhance the system moving forward, but I also want people to be realistic. This is not going to be something we can fix overnight.”
