Brian Crossman is a partner in Estevan-based Independent Well Servicing. The opinions expressed in this column are the opinions of the author and not necessarily the opinions of Independent Well Servicing.
Brian Crossman. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
I typically write articles for the energy industry. I’m gonna take a little detour today to discuss the health care in Saskatchewan. Why would I do this you might ask? While I am not a fan about writing about my personal life, in order to get to the point I have to.
In late January, I had a long-awaited hip replacement. The surgery went well, and my recovery was ahead of schedule. Fantastic. Until in mid-March I found some ice underneath a skiff of snow, which caused me to slip & fall. This in turn smashed the femur on the same leg as the hip replacement. Back in for surgery. Not cool. I get home, start recovery and then on Easter Sunday I trip at home with my walker and crack the femur. Great. I have two titanium plates installed. This goes well, but them a few days later I break out in a fever, back to the hospital for yet another surgery to clean out the staph infection and spend ten more days in the hospital.
I am home again, but on some very intense antibiotic therapy to hopefully clean out all the infection in my body. It has been easily the most difficult time of my life. There have been conversations with family, friends and God, but more on that later.
Like most Canadians, I criticize health care in our country. It’s easy to do just from watching the news or talking to friends. But now I’ve had a pretty in depth look at how it operates and I have definitely gained some perspective on the system. There are many problems in the system, obviously wait times, some poor organization and much inefficiency. This is coupled with a lack of health care workers that are willing to stay in Saskatchewan.
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These are fixable, but all parties must be on board and as with all things these fixes will cost a lot of money. All parties, meaning the unions, every level of government, health care administration, taxpayers, and of course the healthcare workers themselves. But despite many dark spots, these are all repairable with the right combination of resources and willpower.
The health care workers: It didn’t matter what position these workers were at, they were for the most part friendly, smiling, hard-working and are there to do right for the patients. The nurses were among the best, looking me in the eyes and performing their tasks with good humor, and genuine compassion. The doctors were all pretty good, doing their best to put Val and I at ease when delivering the not-so-good news. X-ray techs, porters, cleaning staff were all competent and friendly. I did see a lot of good natured joking in a place that often is littered with bad news. Two nurses actually hugged Val and shed some tears together. You can’t fake that. They just need to hold their unions to account to bring the best care possible to the taxpayers.
The healthcare unions need to take some responsibility as well. The leaders need to quit talking about how great they are and actually be great. By that I mean look for common ground with the government to find solutions that are cost-effective and fair. The public perception is that the union leaders are more concerned with their own salaries than the health care system they claim to support.
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The administrators need to take ownership on how the system works. These are the people that should be able to see through the fog of inefficiency and create the solutions that will streamline the system. They must work hand in hand with the front line workers to achieve one goal, “make the system better.”
But what did I learn during this experience? Well, despite the pain, and feeling sorry for myself at 2:00 a.m., I did learn that I am truly blessed. My friends have been sending good wishes and prayers my way. They have brought food over, and sat and had coffee with me. Many have called me from the field to tell me how work is going (important to a righand). As I noted earlier, a couple of late night conversations with God helped to clarify things as well.
I am blessed to work for a company that has kept me involved, albeit at a reduced work load. Staying involved in the operations does more for my psyche than you can possibly imagine. Many of us define ourselves by our work, and I have learned having the support of your business partners goes a long way toward the healing process.
My family has been stellar. They call regularly, pray for me, come to visit and offer any support they can. My siblings, brothers-in-law, our daughters, husbands and the grandkids have lifted my spirits on more occasions than I can count. My wife, Val, has been an absolute rock through this whole ordeal. She questions the doctors, assists with me getting the proper medications, and makes sure I am eating the foods that my body requires to heal. But mostly she tells me she loves me, and that everything will work out just fine. (And reminds me not to fall again…)
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I did get one phone call from my friend, Paul, late one night when I was in the hospital the last time. He gave me some good advice, telling me to not worry, but not be lazy with my recovery, and reminding me that this was not cancer, but something I will recover from. We ended with telling each other how important we are to each other. That phone call will stay with me forever.
But back to our healthcare system. Is it a money issue? The 2023-2024 health care budget will be increased $431 million to $6.9 billion. When you add in the yearly fundraisers in every district, it sure seems like a lot of money. After the last few months navigating the health care system, I do have a few suggestions for the Minister of Health.
Talk to the front line workers. Ask the questions that only they can answer. What do you need? How can we help? What is it in the system truly needs improvement? Don’t just pay lip service, take all suggestions seriously and get them involved. Don’t be arrogant, just listen.
Make the system easier to navigate. We are still using reams of paper in a world dominated by tablets and electronic information transfer. We still use fax machines! Take a tour of the Mayo clinic to learn how health care can be expedited in a timely fashion. Let’s learn how to operate health care in the computer age.
I also noticed many patients not being very “patient.” Most of the people I shared a room with were great, but several were not nice to the health care workers. We, as people using the system, need to be respectful of these over-worked people. I tried my level best to be courteous and understanding every chance I got. The small courtesies were always returned.
Now I can see the irony of someone like me using a lot of healthcare resources making commentary on the system. But these past few months have given me “perspective” on the inner workings of Saskatchewan health care. Hopefully if someone in the government would take the time to sit down for a coffee, I would be happy to offer my insights and ideas. I’ll even pay for the coffee.
Brian Crossman is a partner with Independent Well Servicing in Estevan. His goal is to make things just a little better, even if it means admitting his screw-ups. Hey Health Minister Paul Merriman, why don’t ya give him a call sometime?
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