Commentary, Opinion

Medical services

August 14, 2025   ·   0 Comments

As you are no doubt aware, walk-in medical clinics have become almost nonexistent and access to timely care has deteriorated sharply. Increasingly, we’re being forced into rigid “doctor associations” that require formal registration and limit us to scheduled appointments or else leave us with no option but overcrowded emergency rooms and hours-long waits.

To give just one example: the physician group I’m registered with currently offers phone appointments in 30 days, and in-person appointments in 60. This is not timely care. This is delay disguised as access.

Earlier today, my wife suffered a serious cut from broken glass. Her only options were to call (and pay for) a cab or ambulance, or drive herself 20–30 minutes to the nearest clinic or hospital (I’m at work about 50 minutes away).

In what healthcare system is this considered acceptable, let alone dignified?

Is anyone satisfied with this state of affairs, and is the provincial or federal government taking any meaningful action? I’ve asked my MPP and MP what the actual status is of the political debate on restoring real, individual access to healthcare.

We are seniors, yet there is no priority access, no walk-in availability, and no practical alternative. The current model prioritizes administrative systems over patient needs. That is not a health care system – it is a managed waitlist.

I’m sorry to rant, but in a country that basks in the reputation for prompt and equal access to healthcare, the reality can be disheartening.

It’s difficult to accept that professional athletes can receive same-day MRIs to protect their million-dollar contracts, while my wife, whose work educating young children is maybe a little more vital, faces long delays for necessary care.

Chris Turman

Tottenham

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