ForeverCurious

Hi,

I'm new to the site but see that there are quite a few Canadians so I am going to ask, Girls either living in Ottawa or have lived in Ottawa, have you been denied medical attention?

I am originally from Toronto, I moved to Ottawa a little over a year ago and have had NO medical attention whatsoever. I am getting seriously frusterated and desperate!

I have asked for refurals to an endroconligist, a Gynecologigist, a family doctor, and have been refused medication, even for an inhairler and I am an astmahtic!

I have been to a bunch of walk in clinics and every damn one of them tells me that I can only say 1 symptom then I have to leave, well PCOS has several, and my symptoms are getting worse and when I try to tell these doctors this they dont listen! I have even tried to go to a hospital and ask the triage nurse if I wait around for 8-10 hours, is that going to get me anywhere, would I get medical attention? she was very unfriendly and said we're a hospital we deal with emegriences... so where does that leave me? I know the family doctor I had back home would help me, problem is thanks to the governement he cant! he cant give me my meds, nor can he give me a refural to a doctor out here because Im out of area, so basically Im up the creek without a pattle, if there are any females from Ottawa, I want to know, have you or are you going through this? how did you get medical attention? because I am seriously lost on what to do, I even called my MPP and was told that its not his concern and its up to me to call doctors, I have, I have looked up doctors online taking new paitents and called only to find out that they arent taking new paitents.... Im getting seriously depressed

does anyone have any advice or personal experience to share? am I alone in this or are there others going through the same thing?

thanks for taking the time to read this

lizcharles

my doctor is in mantoick (just outside barhaven) and is accepting new patients. he's knowledgable about PCOS, through, and has reffered me to an endo without any difficulty. i know its a bit out of town, but i really believe women with PCOS need a regular family doctor to monitor things and help with with a treatment plan. if you do become a patient the first thing he will do is a pre physical (pap and breast exam done by a female doctor, blood work, EKG etc) then you go back for your physical (blood work results, blood preasure, he listens to you heart, lungs etc). and then you go from there. he's really great. (and handsome ) his name is Dr. Aly Abdulla and the website for his office is http://www.mydoctor.ca/user/index.asp?id=1239

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blueoceanflower

Hi Forever
Welcome to the boards and to Ottawa.
I am so sorry that you are having to deal with all this
It is soooo hard to find a family dr in the ottawa area.
My only advice is in reagrds to the PCOS, is for you to go to a walk in clinic and DEMAND a referal the the Diabetes and Endocrine Clinic at the Ottawa Hospital
Here is the info. Call them and ask for their fax# so you can bring it with you to the hospital:
http://www.ottawahospital.on.ca/pati...diabetes-e.asp
If a clinic dr won't help you, give your old dr a call. He should be able to fax in a referal for you based on you pased medical history. It's all within the same province, so I am not sure what 'government' issues would prevent him form giving you a referal??
If all else fails, I would plunk myself down in the ER for the Ottawa Hospital and wait to be seen by a dr and explain your situation. If the triange nurse gives you a hard time, just explain that you have been unmonitoired for months and you have a pre-diabetic condition and need to be seen. Tell her you feel unwell and are worried that it is progressing.
Good luck!

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Me 29, DH 39

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BeetleGirl

I work in the medical field in B.C. and we get referrals from other provinces all the time. When I moved from the GTA, to Calgary, my dr sent me on my way with a referral to a new doctor for when I moved & was settled. If you happen to go back to Toronto, make an appt with your last doctor, and have him send referrals, as well as 3-6 months worth of prescriptions. It is possible for them to do this, no matter what they tell you.

When requesting repeats for medications, make sure you bring a copy of a past Rx's, empty Rx bottles or even a copy of your file. When they see actual proof that you have been on a medication, then deny you the medication, they can be held accountable for their actions.

Walk in clinics, are just that. Walk in clinics. They should be used for after hours convenience, or for any non emergency medical crisis that needs attention.
Many of them don't want to send referrals or run tests because they don't have the time to follow up, and if they don't, they could be in big trouble, so many times it is just easier for them to deny requests. However there are the doctors in walk in clinics, that are excellent care givers, and will do tests and referrals, but they can sometimes be a rare exception.

So as difficult as it is, try to find yourself a family doctor. There is always atleast one accepting new patients. So call hospitals, the college, and other dr's offices, and ask who is accepting new patients. When you finally hear of someone, call right away. When a doctor is accepting new patients. The window of opportunity is very small, as there are many people in the same boat all trying to do the same thing as you and before you know it, the doctor has more than enough new patients.
The one advantage that you have, is you're new to the city(you may want to let on that you have been here less time than you have) and because of that, there should be more leanancy with doctors to accept you as a patient. The one thing to remember is though the dr is the one that sees you, the medical office assistant at the front desk runs the office, so if you want something, they are the ones you want to impress.

Finally, don't hesitate to contact the College of Physicians and surgeons if you feel are not getting adequate care. They are there to not only help physicians, but patients as well.

Sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time with healthcare. Hopefully things will turn around soon for you. Good Luck!

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mcoreen

I moved to Ottawa from NB last summer. I had no trouble whatsoever getting a family dr or meds or referrals. I went to one of the Appletree medical group clinics and they signed me up right away with a family dr. I was referred to a gyne within the group on my first visit after telling them I wasn't back to normal after a m/c for which I never received any medical attention whatsoever. The dr I saw wasn't concerned but gave me a referral without me even asking for it. Once you sign up with the group, you can go to any of their clinics, you don't need an appt to see the GP's (although you may end up waiting), and all your info is accessible within the group so it's easy to go to a different clinic if you need to. Some people may not like appletree, but so far I think it's awesome!

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ForeverCurious

thank you ladies so much for replying. I have called Dr. Abdulla's office and gave my information, I am waiting to see if he will meet with me. So thank you Liz for the information, Im keeping my fingers crossed that I will get a postive call back and apt.

thank you oceanflower and beetlegirl, your supporitve advice was nice. it seems to be me and obviously the clinics that I have gone to, I am going to wait the week to see if I hear from Dr. Abdulla, if I dont then I will try another clinic out of town and if that doesnt work then will try the hospital route (i will also be contacting my old doctor again to see if he will help at all, what you said beetlegirl has got me thinking that he should be doing something to help me somehow try to get medical help out here.)

Thank you for your reply mcoreen, but appletree is not the place for me, I tried a clinic from appletree a while ago and tried to talk about how certian things were geting out of control and the doctor made me feel horrible about myself to the point that I ended up bursting into tears and leaving (again without getting anywhere) and since then tend to be nervious and weary about trying clinics. I have called and checked in with so many offices to see if anyone is taking new paitents but its always no, but I think it might be because Im checking closer to home and I live towards downtown.

again thank you all for your replies, it means a lot to me

*hugs*

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smell the flowers, smile a smile, enjoy the single moment in time of peace and tranquility, because all to soon you will be faced with the harsh reality of the fight

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ForeverCurious

omg, great news and happy update

I got a doctor!!! I got the call back from Dr. Abdulla's office just now, hes going to take me on and I meet with him next week, things are finally looking up. thank you again for all that posted *hugs*

btw, lizcharles, you are amazing and I pretty much love u, if I knew where u were Id give u the biggest hug ever, thank you so much for posting about him.

Im soo happy and excited right now

thank you girls! *hugs*

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smell the flowers, smile a smile, enjoy the single moment in time of peace and tranquility, because all to soon you will be faced with the harsh reality of the fight

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serra_angel

I just wanted to nudge the bunch of you that there is an Ottawa Meetup thread and it would be fun for all of us to meet.

mcoreen, I also moved here from NB, and found a doctor without a problem. Maybe we have some kind of maritime luck or something.

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lizcharles

i'm sooo happy for you! he's a really great doctor, i hope you have a positive experience with him and the rest of the staff! see you in the waiting room
xoliz

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lizcharles

also, just a heads up theres an awsome little cafe in manotick, if you go to the end of the street where dr A is theres a big strip mall with a pharmacy and stuff, on the right side closest to the street is "the french cafe" they have great coffee/tea/food and the owner is super nice!

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