91-minute wait time the norm at Kelowna walk-in clinics

If you've ever languished in the waiting room of a walk-in clinic in Kelowna or West Kelowna, this won't come as a surprise to you.

The average wait time to see a doctor is a staggering 91 minutes -- yes, more than an hour-and-a-half.

The statistic comes from Medimap, the Vancouver-based tech company that publishes online the wait times at 1,200 walk-in clinics across the country, including all 13 in Kelowna and West Kelowna.

The figures are for 2021 and were released today as part of the Medimap Wait-Time Index.

At 91 minutes, the Kelowna wait time is the second longest in Canada, behind only Victoria, where it's a whopping 161 minutes or almost three hours.

"At the end of the day, it all boils down to accessibility," said Medimap CEO Blake Adam.

"Wait times are reflective of supply and demand. In Kelowna, there are a lot of people who want to see a physician at a walk-in clinic and fewer doctors available to see them."

Medimap's first wait-time index in 2019 pegged Kelowna's wait time at 20 minutes, so the catapult to 91 minutes makes it four-and-a-half times worse.

"Kelowna's wait time is 50% higher than the provincial average (of 58 minutes) and three times the national average (of 25 minutes)," according to Adam.

"Walk-in clinics update the their status every half hour on Medimap so patients know what they're facing and can find the shortest waiting time. We gather the information and our goal in releasing it this way is to raise awareness and because it's a public interest story."

Therefore, the reaction to wait times will vary depending on where you are in the country.

People and patients in Victoria and Kelowna are likely to be horrified wait times are 161 and 91 minutes, respectively.

Meanwhile, those in Brampton and Mississauga in Ontario are probably I'm-alright-jack with their nine minute wait times.

There are a myriad of reasons for Kelowna's long wait times at walk-in clinics.

First, there's a doctor and nurse shortage.

Many people don't have a family doctor, so a walk-in is their only choice for non-emergency medical care.

Or, you have a family doctor, but they're swamped and you can't get an appointment today or tomorrow, so you end up at the walk-in.

Additionally, others don't have a family doctor and aren't bothered to try to get one because they're resigned to use a walk-in the odd time they need non-emergency care.

Adam initially speculated wait times would go down in 2021 because the pandemic forced more patients to virtual appointments or avoid walk-ins for fear of COVID.

The opposite ended up happening in many cities, including Kelowna and West Kelowna.

Adam noted the BC government is trying to take the pressure off walk-ins by opening more urgent and primary care clinics, an initiative to connect people with family doctors accepting new patients and primary care networks directing people to where they can get care the fastest.

Also on Medimap's platform are listings, by city, of where they can get last-minute appointments with mental health professionals, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dieticians, massage therapists and optometrists.

Check out Medimap.ca.