93-year-old Istvan Vago, visiting his son in Richmond Hill from Hungary, was required to pay a $920 ambulance bill even though he insisted he didn’t need help from paramedics. The CBC tells the tale and says it raises questions about a patient’s right to decline treatment. Of course it does and much more as well. Mr. Vago’s plight is a result of a keyed-up, zero-tolerance society that intends to take care of everyone no matter what (that’s nice). And by the way, it will punish paramedics, doctors or anyone else who doesn’t extend every effort to help a sick man. Of course, there’s no free money to pay for society’s instant care system so bills of $920 are common. The CBC says Vago was shopping in a Richmond Hill dollar store with his son on Wednesday when he began clutching his stomach and sank to his knees. According to the family, Vago simply needed to use the washroom. But well-intentioned people, including a witness who was a nurse, insisted on calling an ambulance despite the family’s assurances that Vago would be fine. Incidentally, the College of Nurses is certainly ready to criticise a member who doesn’t respond when a perceived emergency occurs. The nurse will never get into trouble with the college for doing what she did, as reported by Vago. “She said it’s up to her, and that she knew what she was doing.”
