Patients starting to choose walk-in clinics over family doctors

A Sudbury doctor agrees there is a problem with patients getting access to primary healthcare in the north — and he's says it's not for lack of wanting to see patients.

He made the comments after a report released this week said northerners wait longer that the rest of Ontarians to get a doctor's appointment.

Doctor Sean Sullivan, who has one of the newest family practices in Sudbury, told CBC News that doctors need to see a certain amount of patients each day to cover the costs of their practice. They are paid per appointment.

But the more people he sees, the less time he has to address each patient's medical needs.

"And it's something I think all of us struggle with: Trying to provide the best care we can, while also being essentially a small business owner and needing to keep the lights on," he said.

Morning North16:59Family doctor phone-in

We opened up our phone lines to find out how accessible your family doctor is. We were also joined by Dr. Sean Sullivan, one of Sudbury's newest family doctors for that conversation.

Some patients choose walk in clinics because they either don't have — or can't wait —  to see a family doctor.

For those who choose this route, Sullivan recommends they keep records of their medical history so they can help doctors fill in the gaps. Those include vaccination records, blood work, and the times and reasons you saw another doctor.

"Be an advocate for your own health," Sullivan said.

Managing his own health care is something that works for Sudbury resident David Graham, who recently chose to leave his family doctor.

"I felt like I was like cattle in and out the door there. It was not a good experience," he said.

"I was getting better care at the local clinics than I was with this particular doctor."

Morning North7:03Access to family doctor still an issue in the north

A Health Quality Ontario report says northerners often find the doctor is out. France Gelinas is the health critic for Ontario and the NDP MPP for Nickel Belt. She shared some of her thoughts about the report.

Graham's choice to move to a walk-in clinic has also paid off. During one of his walk-in clinic visits, the doctor on call asked him to become a patient at her practice. He said he's been pleased with his new family doctor so far.

Sullivan said he understands the frustrations many people feel with trying to get primary medical care in the north.

He said he would love to hire another secretary at his practice to field patient calls and concerns. But to pay that person's salary, he would need to fit in more patients each day.

"As physicians we do the best we can to provide the care, but it's complicated and it's something that's keeping me up a lot at night these past few weeks," he said.