Wait times: Are you finding it harder to see a doctor?

It's taking longer for patients with an urgent condition to see a doctor, a new survey suggests.
   
New nursing services are helping the millions of Canadians who don't have a family physician, as well as seniors who want to live independently at home. (Bayshore Home Health/Canadian Press) The survey was released Monday by the Canadian Medical Association, the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

When physicians were last surveyed in 2007, 65 per cent of family doctors saw urgent care patients within one day, compared with 61 per cent in 2010.

About 58 per cent of family physicians and general practitioners say they're accepting new patients, with 18 per cent saying they have no restrictions and 41 per cent saying they accept some new patients.

People in Quebec might have the easiest time. In that province, 66 per cent of practices are fully or partially open. Alberta had the lowest proportion of practices willing to accept new patients, at 52 per cent.

Are you finding it harder to see a doctor? Are you unable to see a doctor as a new patient? Let us know in the comments below.



(This survey is not scientific. It is based on readers' responses.)