I’ve lived in 3 provinces. Canada’s health care is anything but universal

This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

After a difficult couple of years in my personal life, I decided to pack up my bags and move from Regina, where I was born and raised my own daughter, to Kelowna, B.C. The move felt like an opportunity for healing and growth.

I secured a cute little place to live and checked off the other boxes one must do when relocating. Switching over my driver’s licence provided me with a B.C. health card. 

In Saskatchewan, I had a family doctor. Even if it was sometimes a month-long wait to get an appointment with him, I felt like I had that safety net as someone who has lived with anxiety disorders my whole life.

As a Canadian relocating to another province, I assumed access to health care would follow me wherever I lived. 

But after arriving in the Okanagan in 2021, I was dismayed to learn that no family doctors were accepting new patients. I searched up to 100 kilometres in all directions from Kelowna and I couldn’t find a single doctor taking new patients. 

I quickly realized how severe the medical shortage was in the Okanagan. 

I was told I would be placed on a waitlist that could be years long and I would be notified if a family doctor became available. In the meantime, I would have to rely on walk-in clinics for any prescriptions or medical issues. 

There were two major problems with that. First, most walk-ins that I went to reached capacity within an hour of opening. Secondly, when I finally did get an appointment with a walk-in doctor, I was told only my family doctor could refill my anxiety medication. What family doctor? 

A recent report from the Canadian Medical Association found that 5.8 million Canadians lack access to primary care. Even those with family doctors say they don’t have enough access to them. 

My only option was to go to the urgent care centre. This is a walk-in clinic that bridges the gap between primary care and emergency rooms in B.C.

Since I was not in an active emergency, I was at the bottom of the waitlist and spent many hours waiting in urgent care to get a refill of my monthly prescription. 

About a year into my time in Kelowna, I asked during one of my visits how I could get a Pap test and some basic blood work done — things I would get through a family doctor, if only I had one. 

I’ve always advocated for my own health care, so asking didn’t make me uncomfortable. What made me uncomfortable was the nurse’s reaction. She explained the centre was more for urgent care and not preventative care. 

I was made to feel like I was asking too much. But how was someone without a family doctor expected to access basic preventative medical care? Eventually, the nurse reluctantly booked me a Pap test after I had told her of having had an abnormal Pap test in the past. I left that day feeling degraded and unworthy.  

It became clear to me that universal health care in Canada does not function universally when you don’t have a family doctor. While care may exist in theory, without a family doctor, the care is inconsistent.

WATCH | Accessing care remains hard for many Canadians:

More Canadians have family doctors, but accessing care remains a challenge

A new survey shows more Canadians have a family doctor compared with three years ago, but big gaps remain in having access to timely or regular care.

This experience also highlighted a larger systematic issue. When people lack access to family doctors, they are pushed into emergency rooms and urgent care centres for non-emergency needs. This contributes to overcrowding and long ER wait times. 

After two years, I transferred through my work to central Alberta to be closer to family. To my surprise, I was able to find a family doctor in a few weeks — my choice of several, actually. 

My new doctor in Red Deer, Alta., completed a full medical history and took my concerns seriously. He noted my strong family risk for breast cancer and requested a mammogram for early detection. My appointment was booked within weeks. He also referred me to two other specialists, both of whom I saw quickly and who followed up with me regularly.

Without a family doctor, I don’t believe I would have had such efficient medical attention to streamline my health care. 

Still, I thank my lucky stars I have not needed emergency services in Alberta. I’ve read news reports that the emergency room in my city is under strain and patients are transferred to Edmonton — assuming those hospitals have room for them. Doctors in Alberta have called for the province to declare a state of emergency over the overcrowding affecting emergency rooms. Across the country, it’s the same picture.

I worry when this strain of overcrowding will trickle down to primary care.

When I talk to friends and family back in Saskatchewan, I’ve learned that their medical system is also under strain, much like what I experienced in B.C. 

My former family doctor in Regina, who’s my daughter’s doctor, sent notice of the closure of his clinic, affecting 5,000 patients. She has yet to be able to secure a new family doctor, which puts her at risk of receiving the same fragmented care I received in Kelowna. 

Canada’s health care system is often praised for being universal, yet my experiences in S4X, V1Y and T4P suggest otherwise. After living in three cities in three provinces over five years, I saw how my geographic location didn’t just change my postal code. 

It also affected the type and quality of health care that I received. Going forward, I hope to use my voice, not just for myself but to advocate for a system that truly works for all Canadians.

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