Health system is truly sick

Dear editor: I recently retired from a career in architecture, sold my home in Vancouver, and relocated to Penticton.

On Wednesday I decided to seek out a family physician; not because I am ill, but simply because I will eventually require an annual checkup.

I looked online to the College of Physicians and Surgeons to see the list of family physicians who are taking on new patients only to find that there is not a single family physician in Penticton who is taking on new patients.

I then decided to start randomly calling physicians to see if they might engage me, but that was also a dead-end street.

One of the physician’s receptionists suggested that I go to a walk-in clinic to see if they have a list of family physicians who are taking on new patients, so I drove to a clinic to make that enquiry.

When presenting my situation to the walk in clinic’s receptionist, I was immediately provided with the phone number for the College of Physicians and Surgeons. I told the receptionist that I had already investigated that option, and she responded by telling me that there is no other way to secure a family physician. She suggested that if I became ill I could simply go to the walk-in clinic and wait in line.

It is ironic that until the end of June 2017 I was the Architect of Record for the new addition to Penticton Regional Hospital. Rather than deal directly with the medical professionals that I worked with on the project I felt that I should approach my need in the same manner as anyone who is outside of the healthcare industry.

It is abundantly clear that the average citizen is in a difficult situation if he doesn’t now have a family physician and if he hopes to be proactive in maintaining good health. It would also seem that the only option is to deal with medical problems as they arise rather than adhering to a regimen of preventative medicine.

Our healthcare system is clearly illprepared to provide even the most basic level of care required by people who are well, let alone those who are ill.

This is a very sad and unfortunate situation indeed. Rick Young Penticton