health
SPEAK UP
How to become your own best advocate
Written by RAINA DELISLE
32
CHATELAINE • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
I
n her 26 years as a critical-care nurse, Paige Lennox saw a lot of patients fall through the cracks—not getting the diagnoses, treatments or referrals they needed—often because they weren’t able to advocate for themselves, or didn’t have someone to do it for them. Self-advocating involves speaking up about your feelings, asking for what you need and making sure your rights are respected, all of which can help health care providers treat you more efficiently and effectively. “Just by advocating for yourself, you’ll get better care, and your health will improve,” says Lennox, who is based in Nelson, B.C., and is the founder and CEO of Canadian Health Advocates Inc., which connects patients with medical professionals who are experts at navigating the Canadian health care system. The pandemic has pushed our long-stressed system to the brink, making self-advocacy more important than ever. Across the country, procedures are being postponed or cancelled outright, while health care workers are leaving the field in droves. In the first quarter of 2021, there were nearly 100,000 job vacancies in the health care and social assistance sector, a 39 percent jump from 2020—and the largest increase in any sector—according to Statistics Canada. “With a depleted workforce and procedural backlogs
PHOTO, GETTY IMAGES.
With our health care system pushed to the brink, it’s never been more crucial to speak up for yourself
