Wait times to see a doctor at a walk in clinic in B.C. are the highest in Canada, with people in Victoria waiting on average around 2.5 hours. (Dreamstime)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

HIGH WAIT TIMES

B.C.’s walk-in clinic patients waiting longer than anywhere else in Canada

Apr 21, 2022 | 4:14 PM

NANAIMO — British Columbians are spending more time than their Canadian counterparts waiting in a doctor’s office.

A new survey from Medimap looked at average wait times from its participating walk-in clinics who report their current wait times.

Nanaimo’s clinic at Port Place Shopping Centre was not included in the survey, however people in Victoria ranked highest in Canada with an average wait time of 161 minutes, or nearly three hours.

The time spent waiting in Victoria was well above the provincial average of 58 minutes, up 15 minutes from 2019, and the national average of just 25 minutes.

B.C. clinics also took out six of the top 10 spots for longest wait times with Kelowna, White Rock, North Vancouver and Vancouver mentioned, all with wait times over one hour.

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“Many Canadians rely on walk-in clinics when they need to see a doctor. We created Medimap as a simple solution that saves time and frustration for these people when they need access to care,” said Blake Adam, CEO and founder of Medimap, said in a release.

Wait times are reported through a variety of methods and not every clinic reports their wait times to Medimap.

Ontario and Alberta registered the lowest wait time in the country, both under 20 minutes.

Patients across the Prairies were in to see a doctor within 30 minutes on average while Nova Scotia saw a 44 minute average delay.

Coquitlam and Abbotsford were the communities in B.C. with the shortest wait times at 13 and 14 minutes respectively

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