Patients left in lurch after Orleans doctors plan to close practices
Patients of an east Ottawa clinic say they've been left in the lurch after learning they would need to find new family doctors because their doctors were closing their medical practices.
"It was a shock to me," said Diane Godard, whose doctor was one of three at the Orléans Family Health Clinic on Centrum Boulevard who signed the letter sent to patients on Dec. 29, 2022.
The letter stated their practices would be closed as of April 6 and no other physicians there would be able to take them on, as their waitlists were full.
"Frustration, anger and I thought, 'How could they treat people like that?'" Godard said of her reaction. "First, I was angry at the doctor but then with these three weeks of not being able to get through to the clinic."
Godard has had breast cancer, blood pressure issues and COPD. She needs prescription renewals as she begins the daunting task of finding a doctor but says she hasn't been able to get through to the clinic to make an appointment.
"I know it's going to be a long time to get a doctor," she said. "I need my renewals for one year."
CTV News reached out to the clinic for comment and has not heard back.
Numbers in a memo provided to the Board of Health earlier this month show up to 150,000 people in the Ottawa area do not have access to a regular primary care doctors.
"People are desperate and that's hard," said Martine Whissel, the executive director of the Eastern Ottawa Community Family Health Team. "And we have physicians that would like to take on more but they're full they don't have more time to give."
Whissel said recruiting bilingual physicians is key but so is collaboration. She says there is talk of bringing a community health centre east of the Ottawa River.
"It's ideas like that that might be able to help our community until we're able to move ahead and have more family doctors take on more patients in this region," Whissel said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.