A chilly, dreary, rainy morning didn’t stop Peter MacDonald — or any of the other two dozen or so people — from lining up outside of Kingston’s CDK Medical Centre Saturday morning.
The centre announced in February that doctors would be taking on new patients. It then hosted two “roster days” to fill the vacant spots.
There were long lines and even longer waits, however. So, a third session was needed.
MacDonald, who’s been without a doctor for three years, decided to give it a shot.
“It’s nice to have somebody that’s actually looking out for the public and… to get people in to get doctors,” he said.
CDK said it has rostered over 600 patients so far through these rostering events and was hoping to add another 100 on Saturday.
Despite the much smaller line ups on Saturday compared to those in February, some people camped out overnight in advance of the event. Others arrived as early as 5:30 a.m.
“I was lucky enough that I’m a student at the college but I’m graduating and I’m going to be losing access to that care,” said Jessica Schryer. “And I’m one of the unlucky people… I have a medication that can’t be refilled at a walk-in clinic.”
Like MacDonald, Schryer is looking for a primary doctor and said she’s experienced difficulty getting her necessary medications.
“There’s been days where I’ve been in a bit of an anxious spiral just figuring out, ‘What am I gonna do?” she said.
According to CDK, its goal is to roster about 4,100 patients and has thus far reached just over half of that target.
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