Anyone who has had to go to a walk-in clinic in Kelowna won’t be surprised – the wait to see the doctor is longer than it used to be.
According to Medimaps, an online medical clinic directory, Kelowna had the second-longest wait times for walk-in clinics in the country in 2021.
“Victoria is by far the city with the highest average waits, about 2 hours and 45 minutes to see a doctor. Kelowna is second highest in the country, at an hour and a half,” said Blake Adam, Medimap’s founder and CEO.
Adam said this is a newer trend, one that wasn’t happening before the COVID pandemic.
“Notably, the wait times are 4.5 times what (they were) in 2019 before the pandemic. People were waiting 20 minutes to see a doctor in Kelowna,” said Adam.
Global News spoke with people trying to get into clinics on Friday, many of whom said it’s near impossible to find an opening on the same day.
“I live right around the corner, I figure I should be able to walk over, sit down for 30 minutes and get in. I haven’t been able to do that in six months,” said one Kelowna resident outside of a clinic who asked not to be named.
“It’s frustrating. My mom’s 91-years-old and it would be good to know if she had care available,” said Doris Steinke. “I decided to personally visit some offices and ask questions, and they’re all full.”
Some Kelowna residents have said a major lack of family doctors in the city is leading to overbooked walk-in clinics.
In comparison, Alberta and Ontario had the shortest wait times in the country, with patients in those provinces waiting around 15 minutes to see a physician.