Don’t mess with it

Dear Editor:

For my first 80 years, my use of our public healthcare system was mainly limited to annual routine check-ups. No big problems, but it was re-assuring to know we had a good public system.

However, in each of the next two years I was rushed into emergency in the middle of the night, and now I’m kept alive by a pacemaker. It would be hard to handle the situation if the cardiologists had said “we can keep you alive, but the bill will be several thousand dollars.”

How does a person make a decision on such a purchase of healthcare? Do you consult three cardiologists, and go for the best quote? Or which heart surgeon has the strongest advertising, or who has the best patient survival stats? Which brand of pacemaker do I want? How does the public learn about buying healthcare?

In the middle of emergency surgery will I get warranty information about each brand? Doug Ford, don’t mess with our healthcare system ... it may not be perfect, but it sure beats private/profit systems.

David Tinker, Elora