What do you feel is the most important controversial question facing health care today?

The most important controversial question facing health care today is the reduction of wait times

in Emergency departments and the underlying problems.

The government of Canada from time to time has strived to tickle down the wait times in

emergency departments given the graveness of the situation. Reducing the wait times has still

been a controversial question because a lot still needs to be done. First and foremost, resource

allocation is a major issue. The shortage of healthcare professionals like nurses and hospital beds

lead to increased wait times. Furthermore, the tussle between federal and provincial governments

regarding the funding also aggravates the situation. The demographics state that the population

of elderly people is considerable and due to which their need for healthcare facilities also

increases thus leading to increased wait times. The technical inefficiencies also lead to the

problem as not everyone, especially elderly people are not competent enough to use the

technology. The pandemic became a huge hurdle to cross and resulted in a backlog of cases.

Above all, the delivery of health care in Canada happens in layers and makes the situation more

complex. The health care professionals also find themselves in ethical dilemma when it comes to

prioritizing the patient’s needs based on their current condition. All this takes times and

exacerbates wait times. This is usual for patient’s families and friends to feel angry and frustrated

by seeing their loved one without one without required medical attention. This issue has heated

up parliament from time to time leading to never ending debate and discussion. In 2023, Nova

Scotia Health implemented the installation of self-registration kiosks to reduce the wait times,

but technology remains a hurdle.

A lot has been done and a lot needs to be done.