Dr. Renier Van Aardt tried to help solve a problem in his Nova Scotia community, but his solution — a walk-in clinic for area residents — turned into a problem for him. The Tusket family physician opened his walk-in clinic last November in the wake of a 1-year suspension the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons levied against another doctor in the area.
After the suspension, FPs along the province's south shore held a special meeting to identify how they could handle the growing number of patients who had no family physician, and Van Aardt volunteered to open an afternoon clinic for them. He then ran an advertisement stating that the clinic would be open 5 days a week from 3 to 5 pm — but only for 6 months.
“The word started spreading,” he says, and residents living in communities a 90-minute drive away — including people coming in the opposite direction from the intended area — began showing up at the clinic. Everyone was treated.
By the end of the 6 months, other FPs in the area had implemented a program that took them directly into communities that needed a physician most. Van Aardt then closed his walk-in clinic and went back to treating only his own 3000 patients. And that's when the trouble started.
In a 2-week period after the walk-in initiative ended, there were 15 incidents in which patients who had seen him at the temporary clinic demanded that he see them again. “What I found disturbing was that a percentage of patients were extremely demanding and rude,” recalls Van Aardt.
But he can understand their frustration. Patients in the local emergency room, where Van Aardt works 6 shifts a month, often wait 4 to 6 hours to see a doctor. Family physicians in the area have patient loads that, on average, mirror Van Aardt's.
The Tusket GP says he still gets almost daily requests from individuals looking for a family doctor, but at least the yelling and swearing have stopped.
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Donalee Moulton
Halifax