Is this common occurrence with doctors? Obviously the story is one sided as the doctor didn't comment, and we don't have all the facts, but considering how long it can take to get an appointment with a GP sometimes, people really have no choice but to use a walk in if their GP has no available appointments.

My wife had a doctor let her go as well about 5 years ago for using walk in clinic, she had been a patient for 20 years at that point.

I don't recall a GP ever saying I can't use a walk in clinic. But when GP's have 3-5 week lead times for appointments sometimes, kind of hard not to use a walk in clinic when something can't wait weeks.

Ditto with specialists, my psychiatrist only has office days twice a week, I called last week for an appointment, next available is in May.


Just seems off for a doctor to treat a patient this way if it's indeed just for using a walk in clinic when she couldn't get appointments.

Again, only one side of the story.

Michelle Schroth dropped by family doctor over walk-in clinic visits - British Columbia - CBC News

I tore my rotator cuff 6 weeks ago. Went to the walk in clinic here in Sun Peaks and got advised to see my GP in Kamloops. Called the surgery and got the first available appointment, 5 weeks later. Saw my GP a few days ago who advised an MRI is necessary. I waited 6 months for an MRI appointment last year. The health service can be appalling here. To date I've had no treatment, just advised to ice it. For now I've lost the use of one arm.

Can I just point out before anyone... Sorry, Oink asks... It wasn't me, nor Snoop.. I'm keeping Schtumm

RICH - that wait time to see the GP is ridiculous and difficult to comprehend- a week or two for routine Appts at a push max with us- the latter is exceptional. Was your GP away? I'm not going to dive into the specifics but if the MRI scan didn't recommend surgical intervention, wasn't a course of physiology suggested? This was be the usual scenario- I presume the ortho specialist had requested the MRI- we are to dim/ stupid in BC as GPs to do so- apparently. If so then he would surely recommend treatment- you have very good shoulder specialists in Kamloops- we often refer there for Vernon. He may well have suggested non intervention- tears could easily be incomplete and treated with physio.

Oh- JS - in answer to your question- if patients never came to see me and just went to WICs then I would call them in and discuss- explain that it is fine and maybe more convenient for the patient to attend WICs but they are taking a place of someone who if offered would come in to see us. I'm not talking about a sporadic WIC attendance- we aren't always open, may be booked etc. I'm talking about those who go say 10 times in a row and never see us- we cannot look after them long range. I would suggest face to face and give them a gentle polite warning that they should where possible attend my office. If they continued to attend WIC and not me then I would "let them go"

That wait time is routine. He's not been away. I've not had an MRI, just been advised by my GP that he'll put a request in for one. No other treatment has been offered (I assume you mean physiotherapy). Seeing an ortho here is like winning the lottery. I waited 22 months to see one previously for arthritic knees.

Seems once away from Vancouver it gets pretty dicey in BC healthcare wise.

Longest I have waited for anything was around 9 months, followed by a 6 month wait in 2012 for a colon scope thing.

I've gotten used to the mental health waits, waiting is the name of the game.

Wife has been waiting 6 or 7 months for the lady doctor she needs to see, which is an improvement.


3-5 weeks is the norm wait for our GP, but he does do 1 day a week at the walk in so he is accessible there once a week, downside is the walk in isn't at his office, and doesn't connect to the offices electronic records, so he is limited as to what he can do, but seeing him there often leads to him calling the office to fit you in within a couple days.

I don't blame the doctors, I am sure they would rather not to have the waits but seems there is still a shortage of doctors all around.

Hope you can get your arm checked soon and regain use.

Hmm- an ultrasound would be helpful while waiting. Here in the Interior we are second only to Nunavit in access to MRI scans- we as an office along with others in town wrote to the powers that be at Interior health and higher telling them how appalling waiting times are for this procedure.
If you are struggling they much, go see your SgP again, it sounds as it you need to- and see a physio if you can. Wait times for orthos are bad in most places, including Vancouver

You are drifting a little JS- that wasnt the question you posed initially!!

Thank you for the answer.

In your case above, I would agree with you. If they have no intention to see you, not sure why they even want a GP.

Me drift, never....


Just so I am clear, I don't blame the doctors, you are all at the mercy of higher powers in the game just as patients are and do the best that you all can with the tools the higher powers provide to you.

Me neither!

Yes- waiting times bug the hell out if us too. As for firing the patient by letter, no, the GP involved could have dealt with this a lot better than they did. They cannot reply as we are bound by patient confidentiality - this can be frustrating sometimes- the patient seemingly can do/say whatever they like. I'm not sure that one can truly judge this case as we are just seeing one side of the story

With my doctor, I had to sign a document agreeing not to go to walk-in clinics; it was made very clear that a one-off would probably be accepted but more than that and I would be doctorless. For a non-urgent appointment you are probably looking at 3 weeks with her - if it's urgent, she'll somehow squeeze you in within the next 2-3 days.

She's a really good doctor, so I don't mind, she takes her time and listens and is very caring and has no hesitation in sending you for tests if there is any indications that you may have something wrong. She basically saved a member of my family's life by being observant - he had gone in about something minor and she noticed he had a slightly blueish tinge to his lip. He was with a heart specialist within 2 weeks, in for nuclear stress tests within a month and an angiogram 6 weeks later. He was put on the emergency list for a quadruple bypass and was taken in for it 9 weeks after that. The surgeon told him had it not been spotted, he would likely have dropped dead within a year as one of the main arteries was 97% blocked and 3 others in the high 70's.

I have to say that the wait times for treatment, in Hamilton anyway, are generally very good. There's also a website you can go to, to see what the shortest wait time is in the area and you can then request to go there.

But yes, back to the topic (sorry) - yes, it's quite common in these parts to be 'let go' if you go to walk-ins.. but we also have Urgent Care centres where you can see a doctor and get referrals/treatment which is not counted as a walk-in.

We don't get anyone to sign some sort of contract- maybe we should! It is worse with no-shows for Appts - unless these is a good reason, we send a no show polite warning letter, if they do it again then we bill them, less than what we would bill for the visit typically- if they do it again they are at a big risk of losing us as a GP..

If specialists Appts are missed the patients are often billed straight away, sometimes up to $200 !!!!! with ours though, they do get warnings beforehand. I had four no shows today wasting an hour of clinic time - more than 1000 Appts in our office were no shows last year- now that is a waste...

People deride the US system but the only time I've needed an MRI, I saw the doctor around 10ish the morning and had the MRI and hour later and it only took that long because they didn't have one at that medical centre where my GP was so I had to go across the town to have it done.

It doesn't make sense to me that doctor practices should get hung up on the use of WICs. When a patient goes external it is surely freeing up demand on the practice. It's not rocket science for a practice to factor in WIC usage rates when estimating capacity. At the end of the day it should be about patient access to healthcare not customer loyalty.

My GP runs the walk-in clinic in my neighbourhood, so no bias on her part! She takes appointments only 2 days a week (I think), walk-ins and appointments 2 1/2 days and reserves Friday afternoons for appointments requiring treatment. I usually get an appointment within 1-3 days when I call, and sometimes they'll call me in to get a requisition if it's time for bloodwork or if I haven't been in for awhile, generally every 3 months when my prescriptions get renewed. Wait times to see specialists and for surgery vary of course according to urgency but one thing I found is if it's a Worker's Compensation case they'll scope your knee or shoulder in about half the time or less in a private clinic so the province doesn't have to pay wages while you're waiting. If I'm injured and require urgent patching, I go to emergency, if it's something intermediate that doesn't warrant emerg but won't wait weeks or months for a GP I shouldn't be discouraged from going to a clinic.

When I moved here I tried to find a GP. The shortest waiting list was 2 years. Why?

What possible reason could there be for having to wait 2 years. I am in good health and not in need of any appointments I just wanted to register. Nope you have to wait for 2 years. Pointless muppetery. I will just go to the walk ins and Casualty if it is that bad.

My GP back home did appointments from 8 - 1 and walk in from 1:30 to 5 every day. Spectacular use of common sense.

If I had a GP and they were whinging about me going to a walk in despite it taking weeks to get an appointment and not doing walk in sessions I would just laugh at them. They are a doctor for the wrong reason. Hypocritical oath.