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Hospital depressing place to be

I am writing about the deplorable condition of our health care system from a personal perspective

I am writing about the deplorable condition of our health care system from a personal perspective.

I have both physical and mental health challenges that require ongoing treatment, but I haven’t had a doctor in almost three years.

I suffer from chronic depression and debilitating anxiety, but don’t have any form of treatment for either. I have fibromyalgia for which I’m able to get medication via a walk-in clinic.

In Feb. 9, upon waking, I discovered I was deaf in my left ear and I am now scheduled for an MRI on July 27 to find out whether it’s a tumour. Let’s hope I can survive until then.

I find the most callous thing of all has been the few visits that have unfortunately landed me in the ‘psych’ locked area of the hospital.

In a society where families are fractured (mine are all in Ontario) and when you’re close to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, love, trust and hope do not abound or thrive, what you desperately need are compassion, empathy, tenderness, and for God’s sake, humanity.

Yet in that hospital environment, you are met with cold, clinical sterility on every level. Humanity is lost there.

There are tired nurses who spend the majority of their time writing about you, rather than talking to you.

If you suffer from depression, NRGH is the last place you should go.

Catherine Melnyk, Nanaimo