dbd33

If Buffalo's too far there might be a doctor in Malone. Beware though, Malone's in the Adirondacks, a kind of twilight zone where money breaks.

JonboyE

I am not signed up with a family doctor. To be honest, I don't see the point. The family doctors are a bit like GPs in the UK as you have to book an appointment. I suppose that is OK if you have a chronic condition, but not much use if you are ill and want to see someone who will make you better.

My nearest walk-in clinic is operated by a team of 4 doctors so if you want to see a specific doctor you just turn up on the day he/she is working. It can be busy if you turn up at the wrong time (I waited three hours one Saturday morning) but if you can pick the time of your visits you can often be seen straight away or with only a few minutes wait. If you have a serious problem you will be seen straight away.

If you arrive at a hospital emergency room with something trivial you can expect a very long wait. They have a triage system so, at least in theory, if you have a problem that needs immediate treatment you will be seen immediately.

You do hear stories in the news of people waiting in pain in big hospitals like Surrey Memorial or Royal Columbian. This is not my experience. Mrs JonboyE was told by a doctor at the walk-in clinic to go to the ER because he thought she had an irregular heart beat. She was sent in straight away (not even had the chance to sit down in the waiting room). This was in Langley. It turned out there was nothing to worry about. Jnr broke his toe and was seen at Peace Arch hospital within 20 minutes.

act1980

So it's not all bad then! shounds very much like here in the UK tbh!

JonboyE

Pretty much so. There isn't enough medical treatment. Anywhere. As long as the pesky doctors and scientists keep finding ways of keeping people alive longer it is a problem that will never go away. Given that there is always more demand than treatment available there has to be some way of controlling access to it.

In a private system the control is the ability to pay. In a public system, like the Canadian medical system or the NHS in the UK, the control is through waiting times.

JonboyE

To drag this thread vaguely back on topic, i saw a stand up comedy show recently. The comedian was a black American and telling of his first visit to Canada, Vancouver in fact.

"I was coming out of a night club at two in the morning when three cops cars pulled up, tyres screeching, lights flashing, sirens going - the lot. A policeman jumped out of the first car and shouted, FREEZE. Now, I'm a guy from south central LA and when a cop shouts freeze you get down on your knees with your hands behind your head as fast as you can.

So there I was, on my knees with my hands behind my head looking at the ground and mumbling yus sir, yus sir. And nothing happened. I looked around and I saw the cops kicking some white guy's a$$. I though this must be the best goddammed country in the world".

Now, it obviously loses something in the typing (and no doubt someone will be along soon who will say that in the UK/USA 0.01375 per 100,000 less black men get their a$$ kicked by the cops) but it was funny at the time.

clynnog

Life is pretty hardscrabble in Malone. Ditto for Massena and othe towns in the "north country"...my brother lived in Canton for about 6 years.

BTW..what do you mean by 'money breaks' in that area.

dbd33

In eight ball on a machine table, it's usual for the challenger to put the money in, rack the balls and then wait for the champion, the holder of the table, to break. In the Adirondacks it's backwards. Not knowing that leads directly to "you aint from round here, are you boy?".

I done a job in an old TB camp somewhere around there, I chuckled the whole time, thinking "Nobody puts Baby in a corner".

clynnog

You must have been 'from away'...I don't understand the details of the eight ball reference, but I get the general idea. The 'dacks are the land that time forgot about in many ways....beautiful scenery but some serious inbreeding and backwards mentality there.

I like the Dirty Dancing reference.

scrubbedexpat091

To be fair though, there are some not so stellar hospitals in Canada as well.

I get frustrated with the lack of family doctors in Canada, I use a walk-in clinic but the wait times are long, and I hate having to explain everything every single visit to a different doctor. I have a chronic condition, so its really a pain to not have a doctor with your records, and history there to get decent treatment.

I just don't see the same quality of care at walk in clinics as with a family doctor.

act1980

That doesn't sound good

How do you go about getting a family doctor? Do you have to sign up and go on some sort of list?

JonboyE

It might depend on which province you are heading to. In BC you can call the College of Physicians who maintain a list of family doctors who are accepting new patients.

act1980

We are looking at Ontario

JonboyE

Then Docsearch is the best place to start:

http://www.cpso.on.ca/docsearch/

act1980

Thanks!!