Victoria couple takes out ad to plead for ‘life or death’ prescriptions
VICTORIA — A Victoria woman says she felt “shame” after taking out a newspaper ad in a desperate bid to secure “life or death” prescriptions renewals for her 82-year-old husband.
“I felt shame that I couldn’t find a better way, but there was no other way,” Janet Mort told Postmedia News. “Is this the extent we have to go to get health care?”
Janet has been a caregiver to her husband Michael since he underwent brain surgery roughly 15 years ago. The procedure rendered Michael deaf and prone to falls, one of which resulted in a broken hip.
In a Times Colonist ad last week, that has since been taken up as a totem of failed Canadian heath care, Janet pleaded for “a doctor’s help to renew my 82-year-old husband’s prescriptions.”
“We will agree to any reasonable fee,” reads the ad.
The couple live in one of Canada’s most doctor-starved communities. An estimated one million British Columbians do not have access to a primary care physician, and the problem is particularly acute in the provincial capital.
Of roughly 430,000 people in the Capital Regional District, it’s been estimated by the group Doctors of BC that approximately 100,000 live without access to a primary care physician.
The city’s walk-in clinics routinely book up within minutes of opening. Even for those who can secure a clinic appointment, the wait times are the worst in Canada. According to Medimap — an online tracker of clinic wait times — the average wait time at a Greater Victoria clinic is 161 minutes against a national average of 25 minutes.
While telehealth has been a stop-gap solution for many Victorians — including the Morts — even virtual appointments have begun to dry up.
Medimap’s own virtual clinic service has ceased operation in recent weeks due to a lack of physicians and users of the TELUS Health MyCare app are reporting no availability for months.
However, TELUS Health said in a statement to Postmedia News that the service does have appointments available in B.C. and recommended users to check the app often as new appointment times are released daily.
“We have seen very strong demand for our TELUS Health MyCare service in B.C. We are working hard to ensure that there are sufficient physician appointments available.
“To meet this demand, we are releasing new appointments daily. We recommend that people check the app often for these newly released appointment times,” TELUS Health said. “Our patients’ health and safety is our top priority and we are committed to providing improved access to health care for citizens in B.C. to help meet the growing demand for virtual care services.”