Doctors are not slaves — they have rights, freedoms, and opinions just like anyone else. But they don’t have the right to deny care to patients in need. It is simply not the responsibility of the doctor to decide what is and is not an ‘urgent’ and necessary treatment.
Last month at a walk-in clinic in Calgary, a young women was told the physician on duty would not prescribe her the birth control pills she needed. While this treatment may not be a ‘life threatening’ one, the patient had decided it was essential for her all the same. Not many of us have time to drop by multiple clinics or come back a different day.
One of the reasons I love this country is knowing that if I needed medical attention, I would get it, no questions asked. But the policy review of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario may change that. Canadians need to feel safe in the system. No one should worry they will be turned away or judged by their healthcare professional.
Last week’s article mentioned that referrals would be issued explaining why patients were being refused care, and how, according to Carolyn McLeod, that would some how ease the humiliation. Well, according to Kate Desjardins — a young women who was given one of these letters in the middle of a busy walk-in clinic — it doesn’t.
If a doctor truly can’t do their job because of personal beliefs, then what attracted them to the public sector?
As she rightly says, a piece of paper doesn’t make the walk out the door in front of a group of people any more comforting. Having a doctor explain to you that they will not help you because of moral reasoning and leave you nothing but a referral will only make patients feel embarrassed and vulnerable. Is that really how the system should work?
According to the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, there are 100,000 people living in Vancouver who do not have a family doctor. That is 100,000 people relying on walk-in clinics to service their medical needs. Many of these people are currently searching for family doctors, says the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, but will have no luck.
The sad reality is that there are not enough doctors to go around; the demand has surpassed the number of available physicians. One of the disadvantages of walk-in clinics is that you never know which doctor will be available to care for you. What this means for the ‘moral’ debate is simple: doctors need to care for whomever walks in their door. The system is already stretched thin, so why create more barriers for patients?
Canada’s medical professionals who, after all, work in a publicly funded system, should put the patient first in order to guarantee timely and comprehensive care for any patient in need. Police don’t choose whom they protect and teachers don’t handpick their students — doctors have the right to an opinion, but a responsibility to the patient.
Instead of getting mixed up in the ambiguous philosophical debate, people should focus on what is practical. And if you ask me, small inconsistencies throughout the system that make it difficult for patients to predict whether they will be cared for is neither practical nor ideal. If a doctor truly can’t do their job because of personal beliefs, then what attracted them to the public sector?
Until there are enough family doctors available, and everyone has the opportunity to select a medical professional who best aligns with their values, it is unreasonable to divide the system and open the door to possible discrimination, humiliation, inadequate care, and untimely services.
