Quote:
Originally Posted by kn
My wife is not Canadian and has lived in many places around the world so until I met her, I really thought our universal healthcare system was top notch. I guess that was easy for me to say as I was relatively healthy. But her experiences have really opened my eyes. Not only are wait times to see specialists ridiculous, but there is no wholistic approach to deal with a range of issues at one visit. She has a neurologist and after a seizure, ended up in emergency, waiting eight hours, was told to book an appointment with him ASAP and even though it was urgent, could not get one for almost three weeks. Even then, he will deal just with his area and if we need to see someone about a different issue, we need a referral which has in the past, ended up being months down the line.
I've not looked into private medical clinics before so I'm not sure how much real medicine they perform. Some of the ones I looked at online seemed more into the "health, wellness and prevention" side of things. That's fine but my wife needs more elaborate care than just a massage and a consult with a dietician.
Can anyone recommend Copeman Healthcare Centre or another private clinic in Calgary?
Thanks.
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I am sorry to hear you are both going through some troubles with her health, all the best and hopefully a positive outcome.
I can't really provide too much advice other than request to be place on a cancellation list from the Neurologist's office, this will allow you to be priority in the event someone cancels an appointment.
Have her reach out to her family Dr and see if there can be another referral to another Neurologist's office. Get the phone numbers and call yourself perhaps and see if there is an opportunity for a quicker appointment. Someone schedule may better align.
Without getting into specific's, I think your family Dr would be the best option for general health. The frustration I find with the health care system in Canada is that when it appears to be failing you as a patient or the family member of a patient, your limited in what you can do with recourse.
On another note, I am glad you posted this thread and shared your experience. I had mentioned something about this in the TJ Brodie thread about his collapse. Enough posters roasted me over the coals about my line of thinking and what I thought was a fairly quick turnaround time for MULTIPLE specialists in TJ Brodie's case. Enough posters were convinced that everybody get's the same quick level of access in emergency cases and we should recognize that isn't the case.
As you have mentioned, specialist appointments take weeks, months and in some cases years for a full resolution to the original problem.
Best luck, stay positive, reach out to as many people as possible and be flexible. Perhaps even a short drive might be able to get your situation looked after a bit better.
As for the specific private clinics, we are somewhat limited in terms what private practice and medical services can be offered in Canada. I don't think there is an opportunity for you to pay for a quicker access to a specialist or anything done locally.
Hang in there and best of luck!