More than eight in 10 Canadians say the health-care system should be required to notify patients when life-saving treatment can’t be delivered within the necessary time frame, a recent poll suggests.
New polling data from non-profit think tank SecondStreet.org, says 86 percent of Canadians surveyed support “Debbie’s Law,” a proposed policy that would force health-care providers to inform patients if they are unable to administer treatment in a timely manner.
Debbie’s Law draws its inspiration from Debbie Fewster, a Manitoba mother and grandmother who was told last summer she needed critical heart surgery within three weeks. She faced a delay of more than two months due to scheduling conflicts related to staff vacations and died in October before she could receive the surgery.
SecondStreet President Colin Craig said in a report on the findings that health-care providers that uphold the ideals of Debbie’s Law have saved Canadian lives, but that more should be done to make the policy mandatory.
“We’ve seen cases where doctors were honest and told patients there was a risk if they waited in Canada for surgery,” he said. “The patients then went abroad and their lives were saved. This type of honesty and transparency needs to be a requirement.”
In addition to support for Debbie’s Law, 82 percent of respondents said the health-care system should be mandated to monitor and disclose yearly wait times and patient outcomes, including cases where patients died while awaiting procedures.
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There is also a demand among Canadians for hospitals to meet the same transparency requirements as private companies, which would involve publicly reporting instances of preventable deaths, the poll found.
Sixty-four percent said hospitals should be required to release preventable death data to the public.
The online poll of 1,568 Canadians was conducted by Leger between March 14 and 17.
Debbie’s Law was recently a topic of conversation in Manitoba’s legislature when the Opposition Progressive Conservatives called on the NDP government to adopt the policy.
PC MLA Kathleen Cook, her party’s health critic, said Manitobans should be informed about treatment delays and said wait times and patient outcomes should be made public.
“Let’s track it and disclose it publicly,” she told reporters outside the legislature last week. “I think that Manitobans who pay for the health-care system are entitled to this information.”
Minister of Health Uzoma Asagwara told reporters during a press briefing that the province is willing to look at the proposed law and other ways to “responsibly” strengthen the system.
“I do want to be very clear that here in Manitoba, if you’re someone who has an urgent or life-threatening health condition and you need life-saving care or critical intervention, you are going to get that care,” Asagwara said.
“If you need life-saving cardiac care, if you need a life-saving cardiac surgery, you will be prioritized.”
