Walk-In Clinic

[Snow Queen]

Went in, have a blocked Eustachian Tube. Had the same thing last year, was prescribed certain ear drops that fixed it within a day.

I wait for two hours just to get in to the room. Wait another 25 minutes.

Doctor comes in, I tell him what is wrong and how it was resolved last year. In less then 30 seconds he looks in ear, tells me to take tylenol, and walks out. I ended up digging through my old medication bucket and found the ear drops from last year with thankfully a few drops left in the bottom and it resolved the problem.

So tired of this "WORLD CLASS" health care!

[marstec]

Oooh, I can sympathize with you! You spend two or three hours waiting for two or three minutes of consultation, and in my case, they are pulling out their prescription pad (to prescribe antibiotics) before they get all your information! The walk-in clinics often have doctors who are fairly transient...they get some experience and then move on to their own practices or to another city altogether. I'm not sure whether Ontario has an influx of doctors from South Africa, but there are lots here and I've had very mixed experiences with them.

We were visiting my mother-in-law a couple of years ago and had to seek medical care. This city is three and a half hours from home and the only doctors available on a weekend are at the hospital. Well, after waiting for over three hours, in walks the emergency room doctor (probably interrupted his golf game), who appears to be the most disinterested person in the room! I looked up his name on the RateMDs website and our experience was pretty much normal...So glad I have a good doctor at home!

[Speckled28]

Our local walk-ins can be pretty junky too. And I can't count the number of times people just get turned away because there's already so many people there. I lost quite a bit of faith in our health care system a few years ago when I was involved in a car accident. I was hit as a pedestrian. They took me to the hospital by ambulance.....where I was parked by the front desk for about an hour......then moved to x-ray where they forgot me afterwards. After spending a good hour on the stretcher outside the x-ray room a DOCTOR finally moved me to a bed.....thankfully. It took another hour or so to get someone to bring me a phone to call for a ride. Everyone left me where I was.......I tried to sit up and get off the bed but was immediately so dizzy and nauseous from the pain that I laid back down for fear of passing out. I can't count the number of nurses that walked by and saw me half on the bed, legs hanging over the side.....looking like there was OBVIOUSLY something wrong....and not one of them came over to me or said anything. My roommate and her friend came to pick me up and had to ask for a wheelchair to get me to the car.....they were also the ones who helped get me from the bed into the chair and when I asked a nurse about crutches she told me to go to a local store that sells them!! (I do realize they aren't free anymore but I was in so much pain I would have paid double just to have some....even if it was just to get me to the car). Anyway......I could barely move.....and the doctor told me to go buy some Tylenol the next day. *eyeroll*

[Aimz]

Oh I've learned the hard way that our "revolutionary" Canadian health-care system is not all its cracked up to be.

It's all good until you have a health problem that needs care now, and are faced with a 2-3 year wait, minimum, because your case is not considered priority, even though it warrants medical care ASAP.

It's a lose-lose situation. In the States, they have shorter waits, but you need the money to pay (insurance helps a lot); here, it's "free" but what good is that if you're waiting for years?

Sorry for your troubles, OP

[Eva-M]

I hear you - That's awful! Last time I went to a walk-in clinic was with my daughter who was 6-months at the time. She was having fever; gave her some Tempra and her fever was still the same so I decided to go to the walk-in clinic next to my house. I was waiting there for over 30 minutes; then a receptionist/secretary comes in and tells me that the doctor would not be able to see the baby tonight and that's it she left the room...
I don't know if anybody can imagine how I felt in that instant - can't describe it with words.

[Gazpache]

I hear you - That's awful! Last time I went to a walk-in clinic was with my daughter who was 6-months at the time. She was having fever; gave her some Tempra and her fever was still the same so I decided to go to the walk-in clinic next to my house. I was waiting there for over 30 minutes; then a receptionist/secretary comes in and tells me that the doctor would not be able to see the baby tonight and that's it she left the room...
I don't know if anybody can imagine how I felt in that instant - can't describe it with words.

oh my gosh... it's bad when it's an adult but that's awful when it involves a child! I can't imagine how much that hurt, how scary it was and how worried you were! That's awful! Especially with that young of a child, they can't tell you what's wrong and what hurts!

My heart breaks for you.. that's just awful!

[maribel]

I'm so sorry for everyone who has an awful time with doctors! and with children no less.

The first thing I tell them is that I don't like to feel rushed.
Really, I just waited hours for them to finish their nap or jabber in the hallway to their friends/receptionist/eat a granola bar in the hall, and they have the audacity to look harassed that I'm here with my sick kid/family member? well I now don't feel like being dismissed or feel like being quiet about it.

I understand they see many many people who shouldn't be there and are over-booked, over-worked etc, but it ruins it for the people who really have something wrong or really have no idea (with children and babies or old people) and are dismissed because the first 40 patients were looking for drugs/doctors notes for colds/a pat on the head/something stupid... My favourite clinic moment was actually having to ask a doctor to WASH his hands because I knew he hadn't... EWWWwwww.

World class my @$$.

[coupongirl99]

If you are lucky enough to have a family doctor, I've come to realize its much better to just make an appointment and go see them, at least there is some consistency there but for those that don't, its a complete gamble

[xXtiggerXx]

I dread the times when my family doctor is on vacation and I'm forced to go to a walk-in clinic. It took 3 hours to get someone to look at my ear infection, and there were only 9 other people there. The doctors there are just off their shift at the hospital emerge and they always look half asleep.

[Speckled28]

I dread the times when my family doctor is on vacation and I'm forced to go to a walk-in clinic. It took 3 hours to get someone to look at my ear infection, and there were only 9 other people there. The doctors there are just off their shift at the hospital emerge and they always look half asleep.

It's interesting to see the difference in opinion/preference. I've been "fortunate" enough to have a family doctor my whole life......but I'll take the walk-in any day! I've had so many issues with my doctor that I just can't stand to go there anymore. I do appreciate that I have a regular doctor for when I really need one.....as there are so many people out there that don't.......but I tend to see mine once a year for my physical and for anything else I go to our walk in. (Also in part because my doctor is 25 minutes away and I have a walk-in clinic 2 blocks from my house)

[Zia_Stephie]

I'm sorry to hear that this 'service' is Canada wide. My gf was pissed off and kicked her cupboard on March 23rd. The next morning, she went to the walk in with a black and blue foot. They sent her for X-rays and said the Dr will get back to her on Monday...Monday comes around and nothing...she calls them & they said "oh your fine" -- still black and blue 3 weeks later she calls the X-ray clinic to have the results sent to her family Dr & low and behold it was broken in 4 places...nice work.

[Speckled28]

I'm sorry to hear that this 'service' is Canada wide. My gf was pissed off and kicked her cupboard on March 23rd. The next morning, she went to the walk in with a black and blue foot. They sent her for X-rays and said the Dr will get back to her on Monday...Monday comes around and nothing...she calls them & they said "oh your fine" -- still black and blue 3 weeks later she calls the X-ray clinic to have the results sent to her family Dr & low and behold it was broken in 4 places...nice work.

Ugh. That's horrible!! ....and sadly very familiar. They did the same with my foot and knee after my accident......my foot was black and blue and HUGE for a good two weeks.....and I still have multiple issues with both my foot and knee.....years later. When I went for x-rays of my foot they told me the results would be back in roughly 10 days. SERIOUSLY!?!?! Ten days before I'll know if I have broken bones!! Of course by then whatever might have been broken would have started to heal and I'm really not interested in surgery or rebreaking anything because it took them TEN DAYS to figure out it was broken to begin with!

[neelkamalll1979]

Had to wait an hour just to get my prescription written up. They can't give me a 3 month supply only 1 month at a time. I was in with the doctor for not even 5 minutes. My regular doctor is 30 mins away while the walk in clinic is 2 blocks away.

[beehive]

I will only go to the walk in clinic near my house on fridays because the only decent Dr there works that day.... it just sucks if something happens on the weekend I have to wait all week.

[theweaves_dad]

Okay I got an idea! Why don't we all take a deep breathe..... then breathe out and thank goodness we can at least go to a walk in clinic and use a plastic card that does not say "American Express, Visa or MasterCard" on the front of it! Would you rather pay $395 just for an ambulance and then $54,000 for one week in hospital like my wife was years ago in Florida?? Did we get good health care, yeah we did! But there is a price to pay for it!

Chris went to his orthopedic surgeon last week and was there for 3 hours before getting called in and then was out of there in 15 minutes!

I will let you all know how I feel when Chris ventures to our walk in clinic tomorrow, unless he get lucky and do get a same day appointment in the family health clinic... Right now it is like Russian roullette with a Dr. but I am trying to get him into my Doc, then he will have the same one all the time.

Is our health care perfect? No... but you don't have to sell your house if you get a cold!