Ministry has cast her adrift without a doctor

Welcome to the new world, one where I was just told it would take one-and-a-half years to get an intake appointment with a new health care provider.

I knew relocating to a smaller city would have its share of challenges, but I was not prepared for the total lack of services available, not to mention the hoop-jumping required to get on a list.

My first clue this was not going to end well was my initial attempts contacting several wellness centers. Health Care Connect was suggested, but I was confident I would find someone accepting new patients so I persevered through word-of-mouth recommendations and the ever present Google. I was wrong. My second clue, and this is when the real fear set in, came when I was asked if I had deactivated my file with my doctor in Ottawa. Silly me, I was honest. I was informed I could not have two doctors in Ontario. I emphasized this was not my intent. Being a woman in her 50s, who fortunately has no medical concerns, I felt not having a doctor may be tempting fate. Call me crazy. However, this is not the concern of Health Care Connect. I must be deactivated before I can be placed on their list.

My final, most alarming moment was when I learned how my personal health data would be made available to the ministry databases. I get it and can (grudgingly) agree.

What I do have a huge issue with is my mandatory requirement to participate in a survey to evaluate their program and if I don’t agree, then I am not eligible to participate. Seriously? I am to cut myself adrift of my doctor in order to get a new doctor, and in order to be placed on a wait list, I have to complete their survey. How is this right? How can my refusal to do a survey impact my right to have access to a doctor? This is not right on any level. I have applied and will wait my turn. I will go to either a walk-in or the ER as suggested when I need care and become another burden on an already broken system. Spin it any way you like, but I will not fill out a survey to access my right to care.

I have long ago stopped kissing rings and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.