Seeking prompt diagnosis at a walk-in clinic can be a benefit for patients, sparing them potential wait for a family doctor appointment, especially as many provinces grapple with physician shortages. However, this convenience can come at a cost for primary physicians who may financially bear the brunt of the decision.

Peter Hičo, a paramedic for the Capital District Health Authority, was feeling extreme “moral fatigue” while at the Halifax Infirmary on Feb. 13. Hičo said a person with a significant spinal condition left the emergency department after waiting six hours. “I just don’t have space for them. I don’t have time for them,” he said, of similar situations. “They are just leaving and you know it’s awfully wrong, but there is nothing you can do.”

Doctors and community health members told an audience at a forum to discuss health-care delivery Thursday that more data is needed to properly understand the issues within our system.