Sir, - I was surprised to learn that Canada is a "health consumer's Utopia" with "almost non-existent waiting lists" (The Irish Times, October 20th). Your fellow journalists in Canada would vigorously disagree.
Protracted waits for many types of specialised care are daily fare for the Canadian patient as are articles and editorials announcing the unravelling and pending demise of state-run health care - to the point that health care has become a recurring theme in provincial and federal elections.
The dilemma is plain. The Canadian model of universal health care until recently was the best in the world, but it is no longer affordable. Creeping privatisation - it is currently estimated that 30 per cent of health care is paid out of pocket or by private insurance - has filled the void created by perennial government under-funding.
Proper debate on alternatives to free cradle-to-grave care is long overdue and has just begun. All Canadians would like to see the old model continue, but few believe it can. The trick will be to find a palatable made-in-Canada solution. So far, not many magicians have volunteered. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Tim Meagher, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Canada.