My long time doctor, Dr. Phil Sestak, joined Spectrum several years ago. I stayed with him though I never liked the clinic. I have always found the office staff to be gruff and most unpleasant. One day while waiting to see my doctor, a young man entered. He was new to Vancouver and had been referred to the clinic. The receptionist asked him, in a voice loud enough for me to hear, twenty feet away, "Are you HIV negative or Positive?" I was floored. This is personal information! He replied, "Negative," She told him, "Sorry, we only take new patients that are positive." I was now angry. I am HIV negative but have other health issues. Am I supposed to leave as well? Also the sign on the door says General Practice. A few months later after undergoing radiation treatments my doctor sent me a message telling me to call and make a booking for a flu shot. I called to make the appointment and was told no, I could not make an appointment. All flu shots were being done on a first come, first serve basis from 10 am until 3 pm, Tuesday and Thursday. Also, I needed to prove I needed it. I informed the receptionist, I work for living and can't just book off the entire morning. Plus the doctor had told me to book. Plus, they have my medical records!
This past Autumn I received a form letter in the mail informing of the immediate retirement of my doctor. I have to say I was hurt that after thirty years all I got was a form letter. He was already gone and that was that. A new doctor had taken over for him. My partner saw our new doctor, Doctor Hedgecock for the first time last week. He was rushed in and out far too quickly and when he asked about what he felt was a serious health issue, it was brushed aside. I should say, my partner has lupus and congenital myotonia. He has been on blood thinners for several years and has been experiencing nose bleeds for the last few months. They have recently been coming more frequently and lasting for several hours. He has never had nose bleeds before. The doctor informed him they are most likely just from dry air. He also mentioned that my partner had obviously had a full recovery from his stroke. My partner was in shock. He was not aware that he had ever had a stroke. After calling his two other specialists, it was confirmed that he has never had a stroke. Had this fellow even looked at his records? This was his first appointment, you think he would have taken some time and given proper care! Several people have told us they have not heard good things about this new doctor and have said we should try another doctor in the practice. I called the receptionist and asked if we could have our files moved to the other doctor and I was told no. It is policy. I tried to explain the circumstances. She said she would leave messages with both of the doctors and get back to me. An hour later Anne, the really unpleasant office manager called me back to inform me that we could not see the other doctor and that we need to find another doctor. I said, we would stay with Dr, Hedgecock until we found another doctor. She informed me, we could not see him. "You can't fire a doctor and then ask to come back." Her words! I told her we had not fired him we just weren't happy and that my partner needs a doctor. She said that now that he knows that we are not happy with him, he would too uncomfortable to see us. I was polite and hung up. I have since found out that you can not fire a patient for them questioning your abilities. We will be contacting our MLA, MP and the College of Medicine. I know that Spectrum does a lot of good for people living with HIV but you know that does not make them gods. That does not make them above professional ethics. read more
