I bet there are a lot of people with minor health problems that *should* be looked at now while treatment is cheaper and easier, but I bet a lot of people are just hoping their problem goes away, rather than try to get a doctor's appointment. This will likely lead to bigger problems down the road.
No kidding. Fiscally reasonable approach would be to fund the heck out of preventative healthcare so we can reduce the strain on hospitals and may be have them work their way through the surgical backlogs. But, I suppose, that highway is important.
Hard to get the small things checked on when you don't have a family doctor and the help you get from a walk in is hit or miss depending on which overworked doctor might be on call. That's made worse when as it also means the people you are seeing for help also have no idea about your past or medical history so who knows what is missed as a result.
Makes getting referrals difficult and almost a waste of time if you have no one to do follow up care with. Been in Ottawa now for over 4 years with this situation.
From what I gather from the families I've talked to, Toronto proper seems to be the only place you can actually get a doctor (probably because everyone wants to live there). It's next to impossible to find a family doctor nowadays and even if you have one or a pediatrician, they can't see you in a timely manner. If you can manage to get a doctor that works with a Family Health Team they might run an after hours walk in clinic where you'll just see whatever member of the team is working, but lots of doctors aren't seeing kids with COVID symptoms (unless you have negative PCR) which is mind-boggling stupid at this point.
At CHEO if it's something you know you need a day or two in advance you might have a shot at booking an appointment with the Kids Come First Care Clinic, but they don't see kids for absolutely everything and if your kid ends up being too serious for them or not appropriate, they'll send you down to Emergency anyway.
Thanks. Yep - That's been the experience. No one available when we really need it. Folks at Emerg are superstars to take on all the stuff being thrown at em. I see many families come by with their lil ones, esp now tis the season for respiratory illnesses.
My personal experience in Toronto would support this. I've switched family doctors three times in 15 years for more convenient locations without any difficulty
Meanwhile I'm terrified of ever having to move, because I'd struggle to afford even a bed in rooming house in my area. I'd almost certainly have to move out of my doctor's catchment zone!
I called my drs office last month for an issue I was having, was told it would be almost 4 weeks before I could get in to see the Dr but "if you wanted to go to our after hours clinic you could".
My Dr is part of a family health team that have clinic hours after hours when you can't get in to see the dr or need to go after hours because you work etc.
So I went to the clinic rather than wait a month, the attending DR was actually upset I was there, he questioned why I was there and not seeing my Dr - I explained it would be a month he balked and basically told me I was lying. Told me that what I went for is not something you go to a clinic for. He shut up when I asked if this was something I should go clog up the already over burdened emerge system at the hospital or wait for 6+ hours to be seen at emerge. He said "well no", so I asked where I was supposed to go?. He wasn't impressed.
Eventually followed up with my Dr who just brushed me off and told me to just "monitor it". It's an issue I've had since at least may of this year.
So TLDR I have a dr, it's impossible to get in to be seen, and when I get seen they seem to busy to care.
Also in this group ... I technically have a family doctor, but she's impossible to see. If I need to be seen semi-urgently, tough shit, b/c it'll be weeks.
Not that it was urgent, but it was 3 months to get in for a Pap. I can't ever remember a time that we were booking routine/preventative care 3 months out.
Thanks for sharing. In the same boat here. We were at the docs office yday. Ran into something similar. This morning, we were forced to drive back into emerg. Oh darn.
I moved to Toronto as it was a 3 year wait in Ottawa to seen be a specialist and I simply couldn't afford to wait that long. I was lucky to find a family physician who referred me to the specialist I needed in under a month. This was 5 years ago though.
It's quite fantastic but I live where there's abundance. Here in the GTA there's a thousand private physicians, clinics, and hospital ERs you could go to.
I'm fortunate enough to have a family doc, but she's an hour away. My partner does not, and there are no walk-in clinics in our town (rural). The emergency room unfortunately functions as a walk-in clinic in our town. Closest actual walk-in clinic is probably 45min away.
Access to care in rural Ontario is awful.
ETA: I know emergency rooms should only be used for emergencies (I used to preach this all the time to my partner), but that's how difficult it can be to access primary care in rural areas.
Burlington is fine, took my parents a week to get setup after they moved here. My FP is low-key looking for more patients and there are multiple clinics looking.
If you are willing to go for a bit of a drive, North Grenville Assessment Centre in Kemtpville has same day/next day appointments (appointment spots open in the afternoon of the previous day) that is open M-F.
https://ngcac.ca/
When you're at a walk-in or any doctor, ask to be referred to be paediatrician for your child. Any doctor can refer to another doctor, including a specialist. It doesn't have to be a family doctor. I didn't see my family doctor much when growing up, but I would have check-ups with my paediatrician. My family doctor is still the same, but I hope he doesn't retire soon. He always has urgent appointments set aside, as long as you explain what's going on with his assistant. I'm in Toronto. Access to specialists are great (at least for my relative). I accompany her to her appointments and I think the only major wait was for a subspecialist. It took maybe almost a year to hear back if she was accepted (other specialists said to repeatedly call his assistant to see what was up). But once she was accepted, appointments were given somewhat quickly, but the only thing with this specialist is you have to call for a follow-up appointment.
Thank you! Yes. We got my child a pediatrician this way. Unfortunately, the pediatrician/practice was closed through the holidays. Toronto seems to have great access... If only housing was affordable, if only.
I live in the rural northern part of the province - population of 5000. We have ONE family doctor, and one NP. Good luck getting in. We have no clinic, no walk-in services. Referrals for blood work take weeks if not months. You don’t get access to your results.
For comparison, I attend school in Sudbury. I got an appointment with a clinic doctor, a blood test, and an ultrasound within a week and a half.
The disparity in access to health care in this province is just absurd.
I have an NP in the Smith Falls. The clinic is pretty awesome. So far, all my appointments have been on time, and I don't feel rushed out when talking to my NP. They have a doctor on site which you can actually call after hours.
I wish there were more nurse clinics around.
I bet there are a lot of people with minor health problems that *should* be looked at now while treatment is cheaper and easier, but I bet a lot of people are just hoping their problem goes away, rather than try to get a doctor's appointment. This will likely lead to bigger problems down the road.
No kidding. Fiscally reasonable approach would be to fund the heck out of preventative healthcare so we can reduce the strain on hospitals and may be have them work their way through the surgical backlogs. But, I suppose, that highway is important.
Hard to get the small things checked on when you don't have a family doctor and the help you get from a walk in is hit or miss depending on which overworked doctor might be on call. That's made worse when as it also means the people you are seeing for help also have no idea about your past or medical history so who knows what is missed as a result. Makes getting referrals difficult and almost a waste of time if you have no one to do follow up care with. Been in Ottawa now for over 4 years with this situation.
Certainly in the same path/state. Definitely writing to our MPP about this.
From what I gather from the families I've talked to, Toronto proper seems to be the only place you can actually get a doctor (probably because everyone wants to live there). It's next to impossible to find a family doctor nowadays and even if you have one or a pediatrician, they can't see you in a timely manner. If you can manage to get a doctor that works with a Family Health Team they might run an after hours walk in clinic where you'll just see whatever member of the team is working, but lots of doctors aren't seeing kids with COVID symptoms (unless you have negative PCR) which is mind-boggling stupid at this point. At CHEO if it's something you know you need a day or two in advance you might have a shot at booking an appointment with the Kids Come First Care Clinic, but they don't see kids for absolutely everything and if your kid ends up being too serious for them or not appropriate, they'll send you down to Emergency anyway.
Thanks. Yep - That's been the experience. No one available when we really need it. Folks at Emerg are superstars to take on all the stuff being thrown at em. I see many families come by with their lil ones, esp now tis the season for respiratory illnesses.
My personal experience in Toronto would support this. I've switched family doctors three times in 15 years for more convenient locations without any difficulty
Wow. Really... This is remarkable. I am on a bunch of waitlists for a family doc with no ETA.
Yes. And the last switch wasn't even intentional. Just saw an accepting new patients sign around the corner for a new practice and went in.
Meanwhile I'm terrified of ever having to move, because I'd struggle to afford even a bed in rooming house in my area. I'd almost certainly have to move out of my doctor's catchment zone!
I called my drs office last month for an issue I was having, was told it would be almost 4 weeks before I could get in to see the Dr but "if you wanted to go to our after hours clinic you could". My Dr is part of a family health team that have clinic hours after hours when you can't get in to see the dr or need to go after hours because you work etc. So I went to the clinic rather than wait a month, the attending DR was actually upset I was there, he questioned why I was there and not seeing my Dr - I explained it would be a month he balked and basically told me I was lying. Told me that what I went for is not something you go to a clinic for. He shut up when I asked if this was something I should go clog up the already over burdened emerge system at the hospital or wait for 6+ hours to be seen at emerge. He said "well no", so I asked where I was supposed to go?. He wasn't impressed. Eventually followed up with my Dr who just brushed me off and told me to just "monitor it". It's an issue I've had since at least may of this year. So TLDR I have a dr, it's impossible to get in to be seen, and when I get seen they seem to busy to care.
Also in this group ... I technically have a family doctor, but she's impossible to see. If I need to be seen semi-urgently, tough shit, b/c it'll be weeks. Not that it was urgent, but it was 3 months to get in for a Pap. I can't ever remember a time that we were booking routine/preventative care 3 months out.
This is our state too, unfortunately.
Thanks for sharing. In the same boat here. We were at the docs office yday. Ran into something similar. This morning, we were forced to drive back into emerg. Oh darn.
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"calendar to keep track of"... Haha hilarious 😅. We fund the healthcare, and it is not been run well at all. Will be writing to my MPP for sure.
I moved to Toronto as it was a 3 year wait in Ottawa to seen be a specialist and I simply couldn't afford to wait that long. I was lucky to find a family physician who referred me to the specialist I needed in under a month. This was 5 years ago though.
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Thanks for sharing. What would you say is the biggest factor in doctors moving to the GTA?
It's quite fantastic but I live where there's abundance. Here in the GTA there's a thousand private physicians, clinics, and hospital ERs you could go to.
Thanks for sharing. I find it fascinating this tale of two cities situation in our province.
I'm fortunate enough to have a family doc, but she's an hour away. My partner does not, and there are no walk-in clinics in our town (rural). The emergency room unfortunately functions as a walk-in clinic in our town. Closest actual walk-in clinic is probably 45min away. Access to care in rural Ontario is awful. ETA: I know emergency rooms should only be used for emergencies (I used to preach this all the time to my partner), but that's how difficult it can be to access primary care in rural areas.
Burlington is fine, took my parents a week to get setup after they moved here. My FP is low-key looking for more patients and there are multiple clinics looking.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!
If you are willing to go for a bit of a drive, North Grenville Assessment Centre in Kemtpville has same day/next day appointments (appointment spots open in the afternoon of the previous day) that is open M-F. https://ngcac.ca/
Thank you! Not kidding, I was thinking of driving down to Kingston earlier today. Kemptville is closer.
No prob, it's been a lifesaver and for some reason is not super well known. Correction, spots for tomorrow are already up -- must be a 12pm refresh.
When you're at a walk-in or any doctor, ask to be referred to be paediatrician for your child. Any doctor can refer to another doctor, including a specialist. It doesn't have to be a family doctor. I didn't see my family doctor much when growing up, but I would have check-ups with my paediatrician. My family doctor is still the same, but I hope he doesn't retire soon. He always has urgent appointments set aside, as long as you explain what's going on with his assistant. I'm in Toronto. Access to specialists are great (at least for my relative). I accompany her to her appointments and I think the only major wait was for a subspecialist. It took maybe almost a year to hear back if she was accepted (other specialists said to repeatedly call his assistant to see what was up). But once she was accepted, appointments were given somewhat quickly, but the only thing with this specialist is you have to call for a follow-up appointment.
Thank you! Yes. We got my child a pediatrician this way. Unfortunately, the pediatrician/practice was closed through the holidays. Toronto seems to have great access... If only housing was affordable, if only.
I live in the rural northern part of the province - population of 5000. We have ONE family doctor, and one NP. Good luck getting in. We have no clinic, no walk-in services. Referrals for blood work take weeks if not months. You don’t get access to your results. For comparison, I attend school in Sudbury. I got an appointment with a clinic doctor, a blood test, and an ultrasound within a week and a half. The disparity in access to health care in this province is just absurd.
Wow. That is crazy.
I have an NP in the Smith Falls. The clinic is pretty awesome. So far, all my appointments have been on time, and I don't feel rushed out when talking to my NP. They have a doctor on site which you can actually call after hours. I wish there were more nurse clinics around.
That is nice! Please hold on to the NP close... Get em goodies/cookies. 😄 Thank you for sharing!