Have a doctor, but can't get in to see them? You're not alone 

Taylor Gallant of Charlottetown knows how frustrating it can be to try to book an appointment with a family doctor.

Gallant is one of a growing number of Prince Edward Island residents who have a family doctor, but say they can't get in to see them.

"I know people who've gone weeks without their prescriptions because they can't get through to their doctors," said Gallant. 

"Myself, I've probably called 45 to 50 times and still I can't get through." 

There are more than 23,000 people on P.EI.'s patient registry who don't have a family doctor.

Those numbers do not include those who have a family doctor but can't get in for an appointment. 

'We were left with no choice'

Amy MacKay of Summerside has two young children, aged one and four.

She also has a family doctor, but said getting through to the office has been an exercise in patience, to say the least. 

MacKay said sometimes she has to wait up to six weeks to see her doctor, after calling 30 to 40 times just to get through to the office.

Other times, she can't get through at all, and has to wait hours in emergency just for a prescription.

"We were left with no choice at times," she said.

"With young children — and one child with a fairly rare genetic disorder, requiring more medical intervention — it's been very challenging."  

'People expect a lot quicker responses' 

Dr. Michael Gardam, CEO of Health P.E.I., said he's hearing from a lot of people who complain they can't access their doctor.

He said he's experienced it himself back in his home city of Toronto, where he was so frustrated that he couldn't get in touch with his family doctor that he walked to the clinic to speak to somebody in person.  

A system that doesn't support doctors, patients with more complex health issues, and doctor burnout are all to blame, said Gardam.

"This is not the fault of the family doctors. They're busy trying to see as many people as they can but the system is not supporting them to deal with all these calls coming in," said Gardam.

"People expect a lot quicker responses now, I mean I personally do."

'They're struggling with burnout'

Dr. Padraig Casey, a family doctor in Cornwall and president of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island, said he's hearing the concerns not only from patients but also from doctors.  

Casey said the biggest issue is there are simply not enough doctors on the Island. 

"The family doctors of P.E.I. are working extremely hard trying to meet demand. Many are telling us that they're struggling with their long waiting list and they're struggling with burnout so we absolutely hear the frustrations of Islanders," said Casey. 

"The solution to the problem is not to have family physicians do more work." 

There is hope on the horizon, but it won't happen overnight.

Gardam said as P.E.I. continues to roll out electronic medical records to family doctors, people will have the ability to schedule appointments online, send an email to their family doctor and check results online. 

'Electronic health records are not easy'

But Gardam said getting there will take time, and while doctors and other medical staff are training on the new systems, the situation may actually get worse before it gets better. 

"The plan is to roll out the EMR over the next year to two," said Gardam.

"Electronic health records are not easy, they are a big thing for a practice to take on because it fundamentally changes how you work and in the beginning it slows you down dramatically."  

Gardam calls it short-term pain for long-term gain.

The province is also rolling out a new model of care, which it refers to as medical homes and neighbourhoods.

The goal is that there will be a central call centre which will take calls from patients, and then direct those patients to the appropriate area of care, which may not necessarily be a family doctor. 

'It's frustrating'

"We're right on the cusp of them now," said Gardam.

"I truly believe this will get better and I totally understand how it's frustrating for people."  

When Gallant is finally able to get through to her doctor's office, she said she has asked them why it is so hard to get through.

"I'm just told that the phone rings off the hook," she said.