This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2008.
Dear Family Doctor
Why are you still taking new patients when your current patients can’t even get appointments? I’ve been trying to get an appointment for the past two weeks and nothing’s available. What’s the point of having a family doctor anyway when I’m constantly h
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Yeah, I too am running into this problem. I’m giving it one more shot to get an appointment this week and then I’m looking for another family doc if I’m unsuccessful.I really like my family doc but…if I can’t get any medical attention….*sigh*
Its near impossible to get to a doctor or doctress! I have tried finding a GPbut the only ones that seem to be accepting new patients are only accepting women and babies, so I have to go to the walk-in clinic and hope I get the same doctoress.
Check on the dept of health website — they have a list of doctors taking on new patients. My doctor is on that list too! (and just like OP I can’t get an appointment).Thing with going to walk in clinics, especially with chronic illnesses or other non acute problems is that walk in clinic docs won’t refer you to a specialist and half the time they won’t write refill prescriptions. Got a cough/cold/sprained ankle/sore throat, sure go to a clinic…but for anything else clinic doctors won’t do SHIT for you. A lot of times I’ve been grilled about why I didn’t go to my family doc, but that’s kinda hard when you can’t get an appointment.
http://www.gov.ns.ca/health/physicians/Pick the community, and it will let you know who is accepting patients.
That website’s where I found my “new” family doctor, who only took me on as a patient because I had just moved into the area. That was 2 years ago, and I’ve needed medical attention (for issues MUCH larger than a cold or flu) 9 times in those two years – only two of these issues was addressed by my “family doctor”.Everything else was in clinics, and they all made me wait over an hour (with an appointment), or told me I should see my “family doctor”. When I explained that I couldn’t get an appointment with him, they suggested one of their doctors who was taking new patients – but guess what? She had “never seen anything like” my condition. It’s not like it’s leprosy or anything….So back to my “FD” I go, and guess what? No appointments available for weeks. By the time I can get in to see him, my symptoms are gone, so he “can’t treat me without symptoms”. Great – so you tell me to come in as soon as they reoccur, but you don’t have appointments free.So am I supposed to call my friend the nurse to come diagnose me at my house, make an appointment with doctor busypants for six months in the future, suffer through multiple bouts of symptoms, and walk in, sit down, and say “here’s what you need to prescribe me”? I know we’re short on doctors, but their administrators are short on common sense. Stop booking patients back to back in 10 minute intervals.