When Doug Ford announced more private clinics for cataract surgeries, I thought of my mom. Years ago she had cataract surgery at a fancy private clinic. Cartier watches were sold on the first floor of the building where the clinic was located. The clinic was clearly a success, but my mom’s surgery was not.
She started losing her vision a couple of days after the operation. It was a long weekend. Her private clinic surgeon was away in Europe and no one else there could help her. We rushed her to Toronto Western hospital where a team of surgeons saved her eyesight.
The team included a trainee surgeon who asked me questions about the private clinic. He was curious, weighing his options as to where he could work after his training.
After all, the public hospital is now becoming just one choice among many private ones for the student surgeon I talked to, and for the province’s few surgeons.
My mom is lucky. After Ford’s announcement, it will be a lot harder to find a team of cataract surgeons working at a public hospital on a long weekend.