My Life with MS, Reflection and Real Talk, Uncategorized, Who Am I?

When Gratitude Turns to Frustration: One Patients Plea for Change

Posted by Cooking in Cowboy Boots on

Sorry, not sorry — but I’m about to rant for a moment!

As someone living with a progressive chronic illness, I count my blessings daily for parts of our medical system here in Canada. But that gratitude doesn’t erase the growing frustration — because our system is failing too many people who desperately need it. And quite frankly, it’s time to start shouting about it.

The Crisis

Did you know that over one million people in British Columbia — and six million Canadians nationwide — don’t have a family doctor?

That’s one in six Canadians without access to basic primary care. Many have simply given up trying to find one. And before anyone blames our doctors, nurses, or lab techs — stop right there. This isn’t about them. This is about a broken system that’s been ignored for far too long.

https://bcfamilydocs.ca/ongoing-media-coverage-on-bcs-family-doctor-shortage-2/

Human Impact

  • Why does it take so long to get diagnosed?
  • Why are people waiting until they’re near death before they can get life-saving surgery?
  • Why can’t someone with a visible disability get their long-term disability forms filled because they don’t have a family doctor?
  • Why do people with mental health struggles have to wait months — or longer — to access help that could literally save their lives?
Canada’s healthcare system is in crisis — and those who need it most are being left behind. Over a million British Columbians don’t have a family doctor, and the cracks are widening. As someone living with chronic illness, I’ve had enough. Here’s my rant, and my plea for change.

My Personal Reflection

I count myself lucky to have a family doctor — but I’m clearly in the minority. I’m frustrated not for myself, but for the people who no longer have a voice in their own care. The ones who are sick, scared, and slipping through the cracks of a system that’s supposed to protect them.

Systemic Causes

According to a CBC report, one major culprit is the “fee-for-service” model — doctors are paid per patient visit, no matter how much time they spend caring for a patients needs.

Imagine trying to manage patients daily issues, chronic illness care, fill endless government forms, and still provide quality attention — all while being paid per head. It’s unsustainable.

Many doctors work 70+ hours a week, spending nearly half that time unpaid, drowning in paperwork instead of helping patients. It’s no wonder so many are burning out or leaving family practice altogether.

Alberta family doctors are paid under the fee-for-service model, but with “time modifiers” that allow them to bill the province when they need to spend more time with a patient, which seems to be working and is enticing doctors to jump ship from elsewhere and head to other provinces to work.

Call to Action

So, I’m asking — why isn’t British Columbia fixing this? You’ve had years to address the crisis, and still, here we are.

We’re an aging population, yes — but that’s no excuse. The writing’s been on the wall for years.

When our leaders need care, they get it immediately. Why not the rest of us?

We pay into this system with our taxes, our trust, and our patience — and we deserve better.

Failure is not an option anymore

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