How to advocate for yourself and navigate a strained health-care system

Here’s how you can advocate for yourself and receive the best treatment possible in Canada’s strained health-care system.

Ongoing reports of emergency room overcrowding, long surgery wait times and physician shortages may be causing many Canadians to avoid the health-care system altogether or worry about the care they may receive.

A survey published by Leger this week shows that Canadians are feeling the impact of the country’s health-care crunch, with 70 per cent of respondents saying they worry they won’t be able to get good-quality medical care if they or a family member need it.

Health-care professionals have been warning for years about a dangerous lack of workers, leading to understaffed emergency rooms and a shortage of primary care.

The strain in Canada’s emergency rooms is especially felt this time of year, as doctors struggle to keep up with rising cases of respiratory illnesses.

Dr. Trevor Jain, an ER doctor with the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), recently called the situation across the country “horrific and inhumane.”

These compiling issues have diminished Canadians’ confidence in the health-care system, but experts say there are ways to advocate for yourself and your loved ones.

As a breast cancer survivor and parent of a chronically ill child, Anne Lagacé Dowson has years of experience advocating her way through the health-care system.

She says Canada’s medical professionals are extremely skilled in treating patients, but entering the system can be tough without persistence.