Unable to get appointment for sick daughter

A mum from Outaois was soon disappointed after two calls to the new frontline access counter because she couldn’t get an appointment for her sick daughter.

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“Horrible” and “absurd,” is how Valérie Langlais describes her experience with the new Guichet d’accès à la première ligne (GAP) introduced by Quebec this summer. The 39-year-old mother couldn’t get it for months. Beach schedule to see a doctor at walk-in clinics in Val-des-Monts in your area. She tried everything from calls, websites, places available at specific times.

His family has not had a family doctor for two years. Her five-year-old daughter, Lexa, is not seriously ill, but occasionally suffers from extreme fatigue, excruciating stomachaches and headaches.

In mid-July, he decided to try GAP. She had received a letter asking her to use it to “get medical or social advice”.

On the phone, after describing her daughter’s symptoms, the employee responded that she needed lab tests.

To the pharmacist

She doesn’t give him a doctor’s appointment, but instead tells him to go to the pharmacy.

M^me Langlois said the results would be posted online in her daughter’s health record, and she was told she could call back to see the doctor if they were abnormal.

Doubtful, she calls the pharmacist. However, the latter confirms that he does not recommend such tests. Sometimes pharmacists will order blood tests to make sure a drug isn’t interacting with a health problem, but this is what Mr.^me English.

Meanwhile, she went to the emergency room at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, which has one of the shortest waits in her region. They did stool tests, which found nothing unusual for her daughter, but no blood, as these require follow-ups that aren’t offered in emergencies.

Lack of motivation

M^me So Langlois decided to try the GAP experience again on August 10th. At this time, there is no indication on file that this is a second call to the employee.

When she later described her daughter’s symptoms, she didn’t know the meaning of the word “lethargy,” the family’s mother says wearily.

“He is the one who takes the calls to decide whether people are entitled to an appointment or not,” he underlines.

The employee finally suggested that a nurse call him. Only the latter can decide whether her daughter’s symptoms merit counseling.

Was told a call would come in two or three weeks.

One problem at a time

According to M^me Langlois said, “It’s one problem at a time,” and she was told that in front of the doctor, she had to choose only one of the ailments affecting her daughter. He adds that he was told that if the doctor found a second problem, he would have to call GAP again and repeat the procedure.

“It’s a service that looks good and hides the real problem, the shortage of doctors. It’s a bandage on a big open wound,” she laments.

“When you really need a doctor, there’s still no doctor,” notes the mother of three.

“It’s nice to have a nurse call me back for triage, but there’s a delay in talking to the nurse and a delay in seeing the doctor. It’s endless,” she sighs.