How Private For Profit Health Provider Rations Their Emergency Week-end Services–Vital Aire Edition

Boys ‘n’ girls, get ready for a rant alert with a lot of 4-letter words.   I should come up with more editions like these.  I’m sure non-medicare private for profit health care services other than Vital Aire have been known to disprove the whole private for profit offering better service.  Today, I will talk about Vital Aire. This is a company that has offices and clinics across Canada that specialize in respiratory equipment. Mainly oxygen tanks and Cpap machines for Sleep Apnia  and the masks that go with such equipment. They also are supposed to provide maintenance. There is no Medicare coverage. They accept private insurance and of course, cash.

My partner is client/patient of their’s and has been since 2007 due to sleep apnea. For those who do not know what that is, this is a condition where one stops breathing during the night. A machine and pressure mask force open the air ways to accept air.  He is on his second mask, which now has stopped working–it slips off; it no longer adheres.  I called Vital Aire for emergency week-end service in the hopes of buying a new mask today (their clinics and shops do not hold week-end or evening hours — practical for a working population, ain’t it??). Given that he is a client/patient of their’s, they have his stats and size and stuff on record. Just a matter of a new mask.  Well, when the Corporate pion called us back, he said that cpap was not essential adn that someone can go very well without sleep and a little sleep apnea for 3 days.  Only oxygen was vital. I was shocked and furious.  He even went on to say that doctors (wasn’t clear if it was their doctors on staff who set company policy or doctors in general said this) all say that one can very well live without sleep or have a little sleep apnea for 3 nights– that good sleep is not essential.  Ok, that is still stuck in my mind. I am wondering now which doctors? It’s a question I want answered.  I’m starting to think that this is further reinforcing my distrust, disdain of doctors and belief that doctors should make the same salary as nurse, but that’s another post for another time.  Anyway, back to my partner, if my partner, who is diabetic and suffers from hyper tension doesn’t sleep properly, he gets migraine head-aches.  I explained this to Vital Aire’s corporate pion this morning. He wasn’t impressed, his attitude was basically, “who cares?”  Now, my partner will have the added stress and really won’t sleep until Tuesday (the woman who runs the clinic doesn’t provide great service, is very rude and won’t serve anyone without an appointment and won’t take a walk-in…EVER!! Yes, experience has taught us well. In fact, she’s a fucking corporate cow!). I called the line back and asked for the contact info as to where we can make a complaint for the fucking lousy service, reminding them that they are to prove that their private for profit service is supposed to be better than medicare. I did remind them of this several times– hammered them over the head with it, really.  They had no contact info to offer. They simply said to call the regular number during regular office hours. I told them that their private for profit non-medicare service SUCKED!!!

I am now worried about the health of my partner. They probably can’t be sued if they don’t help him. I will see if my rudeness further impedes on their services early this week when he attempts to get the mask changed. If so, it will prove what I’ve known all along, we can’t get service unless we stroke their egos and kiss their corporate assess!!!!  I say KISS MY WORKING CLASS ASS!!!!!

I have a feeling had my partner been indigent or very low income, and had borrowed the machine from Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital, he would’ve received far superior service.

Vital Aire and all the corporate Pions! FUCK YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope to hell that you will see that being corporate capitalist players gets you FUCK ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

STill think private for profit is better than public?