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Submitter critical of Rimbey Hospital

Dear Editor:

I suppose I have spent most of my life accepting things as they come, I'm not important enough or maybe that’s just the way it is. As I get older I find myself less likely to look at the bright side, if you will, maybe the times are wearing on my tolerance for arrogance or one’s need for compassion.

I was raised with a set of morals, to give someone the benefit of the doubt and to help were possible. Anyway here is the issue at hand, I'm not from here, however I recently have been staying with my boyfriend near Winfield as I hail from the Rocky Mountain House area, about an hour away.

Recently I had to go to Rimbey for a few supplies and groceries. I am not from the area, but I noticed when I visit the town there is a hospital, I'm not sure if there is a walk-in clinic so I proceed to visit the hospital’s emergency room. I have a skin irritation that has been spreading on my face for about a week now. All I expected was to have a doctor to look it over, maybe then prescribe something or give me an idea what to do about it.

What I didn't expect was to overhear a certain doctor proceed to give the nurse several ridiculous reasons why the doctor couldn't see me, how I was wasting the doctor’s time, why I would even drive from Rocky all the way to Rimbey Hospital for such a small insignificant rash and that the doctor “can't understand it.”

I was upset and I still am. The emergency room was empty at the time I came in. In the time it took that doctor to give the nurse all those excuses, the doctor could have come in, looked at my face and directed me to the walk-in clinic (I still am not sure were it is located).

Last time I checked, I was one of many people in this country who pays for health care. If only I could pick and choose when I felt like doing in my job, wouldn't that be different? I'll tell you what, I am sure I'm not the first person to feel outraged by this hospital, or so I have come to find out.

I will be writing more letters to important people about this matter. I wish the future patients of Rimbey Hospital luck, and I hope they don't have to put up with the arrogance of which, whose salary we pay. As for me, I would rather drive anywhere else for health care, and I won't be back.

Natasha Benz

Rocky Mountain House, Alta.