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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2014-12-17, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, December 17, 2014 Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. 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In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services ata wrong price, goods or services may not be sold.Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at anytime. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No.40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Govemment of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada Aocna Member of the Canadian Community NewspaperAssociation and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association 1 editorial Patients need more patience QMI Agency When it comes to getting surgical proce- dures in Canadian hospitals, Tom Petty said it best: The wait- ing is the hardest part If you can remem- ber when Petty's The Waiting was in the Top 40, chances are good that in the not -too -dis- tant future you'll be up on the hoist for any number of operations as your age and mile- age catchup with you. The good news in a recent release of the Fraser Institute's 24th annual report on wait- ing times for medically necessary treatment is that the total waiting time from GP referral to treatment by a spe- cialist averaged 18.2 weeks this year the same as 2013. The bad news is we're not getting any younger and govem- ments don't seem to be getting any smarter at delivering health care. Compared to 1993, the wait is 96% longer. Doctors told the Fraser that their patients are, on aver- age, waiting more than three weeks longer than a "clinically rea- sonable" period of time for treatment after they finally do get checked out by a specialist. This is more than an inconvenience for impatient patients. Untimely operations can also lead to poorer outcomes, chronic conditions and lost productivity impacting the Canadian economy. Fraser points to a 2008 study that found the cumulative lost economic output caused by longer than advisable wait times for procedures such as joint replacements, cataract surgery, coro- nary bypass and MRI scans was an esti- mated $14.8 billion. We don't need to tell you where that hurts. We agree with Nadeem Esmail, the Fraser Institute's direc- tor of health policy studies, who suggested last year that the pri- vate sector must be part of the solution. "Canadians face some of the longest waits for health care in the developed world; Esmail said. "Smaller, private clinics can do much to relieve the pent-up demand in the system. "We need them to reduce unnecessary pain and suffering for patients and their fam- ilies caused by length- ening queues for even the most basic services." Those who warn darkly of the dangers of allowing more pri- vate clinics to musde into the turf of our revered but sputtering public system need to take a pill. We could all use a health supplement r www.clintonnewsrecord.com column Feeling joy despite feeling lonely Tara Ostner The Clinton News Record he holiday sea- son can be happy time and yet it can also be a sad time especially for those who are alone and feel lonely. I recently read an arti- cle by author, Sheila Weinstein, where she talks about how people who are alone can cope with the holidays. She discusses various strate- gies people can utilize, however, two stand out for me as being particu- larly important. First, Weinstein states that people should not run from the pain that they're experiencing and deny that they're sad. I think that this is important simply due to the harm that can be caused by denial. While denial may be a natural defense mechanism, it only worsens the situa- tion. Far from strengthen- ing an individual, denial makes a person weak and, worse yet, inauthen- tic. There is nothing wrong or abnormal with being sad this time of year - in fact, many indi- viduals are - and it's key that people take time to acknowledge these feel- ings. After all, when you acknowledge your feel- ings you are being true to yourself meaning that you're much more likely to be at peace with your- self. Conversely, when you lie to yourself you can never be at peace with yourself. The second important comment that Weinstein makes is when she reminds us to be grateful. She states that people who feel lonely this time of year ought to keep a positive attitude about what they have and focus less on what they don't have. Recently I had the pleasure of watching a piece of moving art enti- tled Gratitude by Louie Schwartzberg, which talks about gratefulness insightfully. In the video, Schwartzberg describes how today is a gift and reminds us of the other enormous gifts that we can enjoy as long as we can see them. He reminds us of our ability to open our eyes and see the beautiful array of colours that is always offered to us in this world. He tells us to look at the sky and points out how unique weather truly is and how we may never see again what we see today. He tells us to look at the faces of the people who we meet and reminds us that there are incredible sto- ries behind those faces. Finally, he tells us to real- ize the incredible gifts that civilization has given us, such as, electric light, warm and cold water and drinkable water, a gift that millions in the world will never experience. That people should be grateful for what they have in life is a simple yet potentially life -changing outlook that is perhaps especially useful when we are lonely. Weinstein gives vari- ous other recommenda- tions, such as, the importance of nurturing one's self, volunteering, letting people know that you would like com- pany, and finding other people in the commu- nity who have similar feelings and are in a similar circumstance all of which can be helpful as well. The holidays can indeed be a lonely time for some. However, as in all times of sorrow, when we, first, acknowledge our pain and then, sec- ond, put our pain in true, global perspective it has the tendency to subside or altogether vanish thus allowing us to feel joy which is, perhaps, the greatest gift of all. clintonnewsrecord.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL 1LO. CLINTON NEWS RECORD • HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-482-3443 • FAX: 519-482-7341 www.clintonnewsrecord.com