Opting to pay — a public right or a private shame?

I'm sitting here indulging in that most Canadian of occupations: wallowing in guilt. For me, as for most of us, universal healthcare rests at the heart of our identity as a people — we care, right? Of course we do. So here's my confession: I went to a private medical clinic last week.

Here's how it happened. My partner, newly relocated from Ontario, went in search of a Montreal GP — any GP, you understand, dead or alive at this point — about a year ago. No dice. "Call us in two or three years" was the general response. Even my own GP, bless him, just couldn't handle one more patient — and I get it. He's unbelievably hard working and overwhelmed as it is, just as most of you are.

Prescriptions were an issue, necessitating trips back to Toronto on a regular basis to renew blood pressure meds. More fundamental to my partner, though, was the need for a family physician to monitor general health. Finally, out of desperation, we turned to a 'paying' clinic.

We called on Monday afternoon and got an appointment for Tuesday morning. The clinic itself is stunning — beautiful artwork, a lovely waiting room with very few chairs, a computer with internet, coffee, tea, bottled water, croissants, fruit. All these riches and no time to enjoy them — we waited three minutes before a nurse came to get us.

The doctor spent half an hour with my partner. A nurse and another doctor took blood tests, stool and urine samples, and ran an ECG on the spot. A frank discussion ensued: "I hope you don't think we're pill pushers just because you pay," the doctor said. "We warn every patient that in order to come here, you have to take your health seriously." Some decisions were discussed and made; others would wait until the test results.

Four hours later, the doctor called us at home with the test results — all of them.

What's a socially conscious Canadian to do? Meanwhile the price tag, including tests and two visits a year plus one emergency visit, amounts to less than $1,000 annually. As the clinic's ad campaign noted sardonically: "If you can afford to smoke, you can afford to come here."

The clinic turned out to be a blessing for my partner and a conundrum for me. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Is this where I think Canada should be heading? Absolutely not.

— Madeleine Partous, Co-publisher