TVA NOUVELLE - Parents of children with cerebral palsy are back at it again.
*ATTENTION: As of November 1, 2019. Health Canada prohibits the sale and rental of hyperbaric chambers. Many of our articles were written before the Health Canada notice. Please take it into consideration 😉
To have the RAMQ pay or not to pay for a hyperbaric chamber... That is the question! A report that appeared on TVA nouvelle on November 25, 2017 made my hair stand on end this weekend! Parents of children with cerebral palsy have to «beg» the ministry for the RAMQ (Quebec Health Insurance Plan) to help them pay for a flexible hyperbaric chamber. They are far from alone: many families are in the same situation...
The last official response from the Ministry of Health seems to date back to 2007: «the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of cerebral palsy has not been scientifically demonstrated.» I know families who, unable to buy, have had to find a private rental alternative, offered by companies such as OxyExpert. What does the government do with the dozens of patients suffering from the disease who have been able to buy a hyperbaric chamber and have had life-changing results?
Unless I'm mistaken, it's already been 10 years since the government pronounced itself on the benefits of hyperbaric treatment... and what a lot has happened in ten years! A panoply of scientific studies and case reports confirm the benefits of hyperbaric treatment for dozens of pathologies.
QUESTION!? Why should parents of children suffering from illnesses such as ADHD, autism and cerebral palsy have to pay 20,000$ out of their own pockets to improve the lot of their little ones? Isn't it logical to believe that the state paying 20,000$ to a family would save so much more in the medium and long term in drug costs, rehabilitation, medical treatment, follow-up and so on?
What's more, in 2014, Sainte-Justine Hospital and Dr. Pierre Marois released studies suggesting that treatment in hyperbaric chambers could be beneficial or even virtually life-saving for children with cerebral palsy and autism.
Perhaps the government prefers to keep this big health machine of ours running instead of encouraging real solutions that may seem expensive at first, but are so much more beneficial for children, parents and taxpayers' pockets...
That's my humble opinion, of course! Anyway, I wish good luck to little Laura's family as well as all the others who have to work hard to try to bring a better quality of life to their children and family!!!!
For more info on the TVA article. Here's the link... feel free to express yourself and let me know your comments below... http://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2017/11/24/des-parents-denfants-atteints-de-paralysie-cerebrale-reviennent-a-la-charge
*ATTENTION: As of November 1, 2019. Health Canada prohibits the sale and rental of hyperbaric chambers. Many of our articles were written before the Health Canada notice. Please take it into consideration 😉