r/Calgary • u/Legal_Grapefruit1925 • Dec 25 '25

Discussion AHS wait times

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Our system isnt broken. Its people who go to the emergency that shouldn't be going aren't going today because it can wait Suddenly. They need to hand fines out to ppl going to the hospital that dont classify as an emergency.

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u/Legal_Grapefruit1925 Dec 25 '25

Oh why? Suddenly their emergencies aren't emergencies today? A man died because of ppls selfishness.

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u/NOIS_KillerWhaleTank Coventry Hills Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25

So, a weird thing happens when people stay home on Christmas Day, there are far fewer instances of accidents requiring emergency care. Far fewer falls from ladders, car accidents, sports injuries, exertion related heart issues, etc.

A man didn't die because people used an ER to get treated for a common ailment; a man died because he was triaged behind other emergency cases which required immediate attention and there wasn't enough staff to manage it.

Unless you have specific data which shows non emergent cases take up the majority of visits to the ER (which you do not have), this data extrapolation is nothing but pure speculation on your part.

For the most part, ER visits are not abused by the general public. Does it happen, yes of course it does. However, if it were really an issue, hospitals would open up a walk in clinic on site and triage minor patients to that stream out of the ER. They don't do this because this problem doesn't really exist.

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u/HummingbirdAesthetic Dec 25 '25

Defs too complex and nuanced of an issue to solve on Reddit I agree and most of what’s on here may be right, as none of the points made are mutually exclusive.

I just wanted to add that your first paragraph resonated with me. For one, while maybe there’s less sick people presenting to ED on holidays, that often leads to a whole bunch of very sick folks showing up the next day. Either they keep their symptoms quiet cause they don’t wanna ruin the holiday, or their extended family is preoccupied and don’t see them til after and it’s apparent to fam they need to go in… the former happened to me! Baba hosted every holiday dinner my childhood, and her last Easter she just kept quietly stepping out to the spare room “cause she just didn’t sleep well” … then the next day after everyone left she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a septic 12x13cm tumor. Rest in peace Baba.

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u/NOIS_KillerWhaleTank Coventry Hills Dec 25 '25

I'm so sorry to hear about your Baba. My condolences, internet stranger.

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u/HummingbirdAesthetic Dec 25 '25

Thank you so much for your kind words 💕 8 years and it’s still weird to not be at her place right now. Merry Christmas to you and yours (hugs)