Public confidence in the health-care system appears to be eroding, according to a poll from the Canadian Medical Association.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos-Reid, asked 1,057 Canadian adults to give an A, B, C, or F grade to various aspects of the system.

About 59 per cent gave the system a grade of A or a B. That's down from 67 per cent last year and 65 per cent in 2001.

While the quality of medicare earned a B overall, the proportion of C and F grades jumped by eight percentage points compared with a similar poll commissioned by the CMA last year. Forty one per cent of respondents gave the system C or F grades -- the most since the CMA began the grading exercise.

"The confidence of Canadians is being eroded constantly as our politicians squabble over health care," CMA president Dr. Sunil Patel said.

"We who treat the patients feel their anxiety and distress and health care professionals are getting sick of defending the system," said Patel, who has a family practice in Gimli, Man.

"Canadians really have given very low marks to the health care system. And as a practising physician, I see that every day. The care that we are able to give to patients is not as good as it was four years ago or 10 years ago."

What's more, the poll found that just 45 per cent of respondents have faith that their children or grandchildren will enjoy the same quality and service that they do today.

Patel says Canadians want essential services improved, shorter waits for surgery, more family physicians, and prompt diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

"Ask any health care provider: We are unable to provide access to care in a timely manner. Waiting lists are getting longer and patients are suffering," he says.

"We need more doctors, more nurses, more technologists. We also need more investment in our hospitals, the infrastructure is crumbling. Just travel across the country and you'll see emergency rooms that are crowded."

Conservative health critic Stephen Fletcher knows all too well about waiting times. He waited for diagnosis and treatment after a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed.

"I waited nine months to get an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) for my spinal cord injuries," the Manitoba MP told CTV News.

The poll suggests most Canadians believe that Ottawa and the provinces have not been focusing on those priorities. Almost 75 per cent of respondents said the federal government is not pulling its weight financially; 91 per cent said Ottawa can afford to put more dollars into the system.

As for the provinces, 78 per cent said the provinces also are in a position to cough up more money.

At a meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake last month, Canada's premiers called on Ottawa to raise its share of medicare funding to 25 per cent of overall spending from the current 16 per cent, a request that adds up to an additional $4 billion.

The premiers are to meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin next month.

Patel says the CMA will decide this week during their annual meeting in Toronto what they will request the premiers achieve during the September conference. meeting.

The poll was conducted between July 9-12 with a margin of error for the poll's overall findings is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard says he's aware the health-care system has to be improved, but he believes that people are generally satisfied with the quality of care they're getting.

Couillard says that expectations are infinite when it comes to in health care and there's no health care system that satisfies everyone.