Patients are under stress in our over-burdened system. So are family physicians and their colleagues. I get the worry. But I don’t get the rudeness.

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I know many Ottawans are struggling with uncertainty, stress and health challenges. I hear your stories every day and it breaks my heart.

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Honestly, we try our best. But let me give you some perspective.

There are at least 165,000 “orphan” patients in Ottawa and that number is an underestimation. We get many requests to accept patients, as does every family doctor in Ottawa. In addition, almost every hospital in the region is showing