Today, medical care as I know it has changed forever. Trust me; the change will have disastrous effects on my health. 

The first news bulletin to hit the airwaves this morning announced that there would be new restrictions on recruiting South African doctors. Our Chief Executive Officer of Health Care stated, “Over the years doctors from other countries have been finding work in Canada. However, depending on the country of origin, that training was not always recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons”. He went on to say that, “as a result a Human Rights case was filed involving an individual from an unrecognized country.” The Chief Officer neglected to mention that many of these individuals who call themselves doctor have been allowed to practice medicine in Canada without a valid Canadian Medical license. He also neglected to mention that these individuals had 5 years to write the qualifying exams and obtain a Canadian Medical license. These individuals were under no obligation to tell us lowly patients that they did not have valid Canadian medical licenses. Of course the name of the individual involved in the Human Rights complaint was not made public. Heaven forbid that one of our esteemed medical personnel or imposters as I call them should be held up for public scrutiny.

The second news bulletin to hit the airways was the announcement of the closure of the new much touted medical clinic in town. The news bulletin stated that “patients of the clinic should find out where their doctor would be practicing in the New Year.” The bulletin also stated, “WeeWantsItAll has refrained from commenting to the media about the closure of the clinic.” This clinic is owned by WeeWantsItAll.. I have referred to WeeWantsItAll before and have mentioned his excessive need to have and control. On Tuesday, December 17th, WeeWantsItAll had a meeting with all his staff including the doctors, nurses, receptionists, secretaries, pharmacist, lab technicians, massage therapists, audiologist and naturopaths and handed them their walking papers. He announced that he was closing his clinic on December 31, 2002. I guess WeeWantsItAll was not the mover and shaker he thought he was. He sure has left many people in dire straits. It was only one year ago that WeeWantsItAll went on a massive recruiting campaign before the clinic opened. He lured doctors, receptionists, and massage therapists etc. away from their jobs to join him in his great venture.

After I heard these announcements, I immediately tried calling the clinic only to have an answering machine pick up. The message on the machine stated that the clinic was not taking calls. That did not deter me. I needed to make sure that I had adequate refills for my prescriptions until my doctor found a new home or I found a new doctor. I drove to the clinic and asked for an appointment within the next 24 hours. The receptionist was very co-operative and booked me for 10:00 AM on December 19th.

When I see the doctor tomorrow I will have to make sure that my CT scan is still scheduled for booking. Where the results will be sent to is anyone’s guess. My repeat 5RIAA test is now a thing of the past. The lab was closed this afternoon and all the equipment was removed. To think that I now have to look for a new family doctor is mind boggling.