Patient in Canada waits over 12 hours in hospital emergency room: ‘I’d rather pay’
Nearly all of the waiting room’s 150 seats were full, patient shares
By Melissa Rudy Fox News
Published March 16, 2026 6:00am EDT
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A woman seeking emergency care for severe abdominal pain recently shared her frustration on social media with the long wait times at a Canadian hospital.
Amanda Gushue, 37, first visited her primary care physician — who sent her to the emergency department (ED) with a swollen appendix.
After waiting for two hours in triage, she was sent to the waiting room — where she was shocked to see that it could be anywhere from five to 15 hours before she could see a doctor or nurse.
She ultimately waited another 10 to 12 hours before she was seen.
Nearly all of the 150 seats were full, according to Gushue, a resident of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. “This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there,” she told Fox News Digital.
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What is the value of your time?
Lawyers and plumber bill by ten minute blocks. $400 per hour is 6.66666¢ per minute.
The patient’s time is valued at zero?
As “bad “ as health care is in the USA, most ERs advertise the wait times on bill boards. And, we have enough “Urgent Cares” to accommodate everyone with money. Sucks if you’re poor and depend on “charity care” or VA health care.
On the road to Niagara Falls, I saw ads for MRIs for $100 cash from midnight to 8 AM. That’s for all the Canadians who have to wait months for an MRI. I’ve read stories that cancer patients’ tumors metastasize and become inoperable while they were waiting. Argh! That sucks.
So clearly, the systems in both countries need improvement.
Perhaps, there needs to be better insurance on both side of the border. I remember a similar time when you had to pay for service and get reimbursed a large percentage of the cost. Maybe that is the key to improvement.
For me, my regular primary care doc is 5$ per visit, urgent care, is 30, and an ER is several hundreds. So my time value dictates urgent care.
My hint, from my spouse, is call and ambulance to go to the ER. She believes, and I think she’s right, that that gets you seen sooner. Costs more, but saves time.
Time to get the Gooferment out of HEALTHCARE!
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Posted by reinkefj 
Reinke Faces Life 