Re: "Don't mix public, private medicine," Sept. 30.
Please confirm that anyone can have a joint-replacement procedure in the public system in 25 to 27 weeks.
Perhaps this could be the case after the consultation with an orthopedic surgeon following a six-month referral wait. The orthopedic surgeon, of course, will have only two or three elective surgical days per month to operate, have limited say in the prosthetic device to be inserted and must use the surgical equipment provided, be it old, outdated or unreliable.
From what I gather from the editorial, this is all acceptable in the guise of the greater public good, that is, public medicine. It would appear the writer is not comfortable with the concepts of increasing volumes and a wider range of equipment. Who would want that? All that might provide is a more efficient, responsive and, probably, cost-effective system.
What a travesty that would be.
Ron Irish
North Saanich
