Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Physicians interviewed for a recent CBC story cited patients who don’t need emergency care as the main factor in the wait time crisis. Many don’t have a family doctor, or the wait to see their doctor is two weeks or longer. So there are structural reasons for the misallocation of patients. But most people in emergency are not suffering from health emergencies - they’re suffering from some issue that they don’t want to wait 2-3 weeks to have looked at.
The whole way we deliver primary care needs to restructured.
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Good post
With regards to the bolded...or they waited 2 weeks before even seeking treatment, if they waited to 2 weeks it obviously not an emergency. The solutions is to book an appointment, if the issue gets better, cancel, if not you have an appointment, if it becomes an emergency, then go to emerge. Don't have a family doctor at the moment or its a long wait, go to a walk-in-clinic. It is common sense. Also, some people do not have a family doctor because it is just too convenient to go to emerg (and then bitch about wait times).
Yesterday I also thought I would test this 2-3 weeks to see a family doctor, I have some upcoming tests and a referral that I need before going overseas so I called to book an appointment. I could easily get in this week and had my choice of times as early as Monday. I know that may not be all doctor offices, but I think it is an excuse for others and just gets used an anecdotal argument for many more.
Really this discussion should not be in this thread, I simply wanted to disassociate the funding of the event centre with Emergency room wait times. Throwing money at AHS will not fix the issue, like you said "The whole way we deliver primary care needs to restructured".