Vital Health

My biggest complaint is that I waited over ½hr even though I had an apt.
It’s a nice clean clinic and the staff were all very nice, including the Dr.
The Dr. Was green (young and new) but I could tell he was trying to be professional and friendly, even though scattered and obviously a little embarrassed.
It’s a good clinic to go to for regular stuff if you don’t have a Dr. They don’t have the dermatology light for skin checks so don’t go to Vital for that. I went for a good ol’ fashioned ladies exam.

Surprisingly easy to make a same-​day appointment. Receptionist was friendly and when I arrived with my ailing daughter we were admitted into a room right away. The doctor was no nonsense but she wasn’t unfriendly either. We were in and out of the clinic in less than 30 minutes with a prescription in hand, should we choose to fill it. I wish we were closer to Vital Health Kits but we’ve since moved to Surrey. Hope to find a similarly well-​run clinic in our new neighborhood.

My experience at Vital Health was so bad, that after waiting for several weeks to get over my anger, I’m still coming here on Unilocal to warn others away from the medical side of this clinic. Not only do they process all patients according to a factory computer system, but the doctor I saw broke patient confidentiality and treated me unprofessionally (definitely against medical guidelines). My full experience is below, but that’s the gist.
Running late for my very first appointment after having trouble finding a parking spot, I called the clinic to warn them that I was going to be about 5 – 7 minutes late. After arriving and checking in for my appointment, I used the restroom and was ushered into the exam room. The (male) doctor swooped in a couple of minutes later, never once looked at me, stared at his screen and called me by a different name. Before I even had a chance to correct him, he started telling me about all of my «test results», which were another patient’s test results. When I finally got a word in and told him he was mistaken, he looked confused and told me that «the computer told him» that I was Patient X. After the misunderstanding was cleared, he said that because I was late and went to the bathroom, I actually missed my 15-​minute appointment slot, and we only had 2 minutes left together, as Patient X was waiting in the other room. I was so taken aback and speechless, I asked whether I should just leave and make another appointment for another day. At no point did anyone tell me I missed my slot.
He told me that it’s okay, because he can help me in 2 minutes. When I made the appointment over the phone and was asked about the reason for my visit, I noted that I’ve been having difficulty breathing (for many months, but it got worse when I moved to Vancouver). He saw the phrase «shortness of breath» on his computer, told me it was possible a serious medical emergency, and that I should just go to the ER. Again, I was so shocked, I said that it’s something I’ve been experiencing for a while, and that I was pretty sure it wasn’t an actual emergency that needed urgent care. My previous family doctor scheduled a lung capacity test, but I moved to BC before my appointment time came up. He told me that the ER could take care of everything, and I should go there. Then with a shrug he just got up, ran out and went to his next appointment. The entire time he seemed completely out of it.
I went to the front desk and complained to the staff that this was *not* an actual medical appointment by any means, and that I do not want this appointment to be billed to the province. I would have to find a different clinic and different doctor, because the 2 minutes I spent with this unprofessional doctor led to no actual examination, no conversation and no medical advice other than the horrible and incorrect advice to «just go to the ER». Another doctor came to see what was happening, and told me that the clinic has a policy to stick to its 15-​minute time limit, that I should respect that and «take my upset feelings and decide how to proceed forward.» I proceeded forward by going to the Khatsalano clinic, getting an actual doctor, being prescribed an inhaler (for what turned out to be mild asthma), and now posting on Unilocal to warn others NOT TO GO TO THIS CLINIC.

This is the closest clinic next to my place, and I think it’s because it’s in Kits and farther away from downtown that the wait times have typically been very short for me here. The physicians have been excellent.

I’ve been searching high and low for a good, reliable walk-​in clinic for some time now and for some reason, I thought that this swanky looking place was a private clinic, so I tended to stay far away from it. (FYI: Turns out it’s NOT private. The walk-​in clinic portion of this office accepts your MSP).
On a whim (and perhaps out of complete frustration with my current ‘clinic’ — and I use that term with as much sarcasm as possible) I decided to give this place a call. I was able to book an appointment over then phone with an attending nurse immediately. Bonus!
The woman who saw me was incredibly kind, asked me several questions and took the time to answer all of mine. This is a far cry from the usual ‘You-can-only-ask-me-about-one-issue-and-that’s-it’ type attitude that all the doctors seem to be developing nowadays. I couldn’t believe that someone was taking the time to actually discuss my concerns rather than rushing me in and out the door.
The attending nurse was incredibly helpful and offered suggestions and options I never even knew were available to me.
She was fantastic and I definitely plan on going back.

I love this place — the staff and service are exceptional. The clinic is bright and modern with a host of services other than the doctor (who’s great) Other than moving my medical record over so I never have to go anywhere else. I’ve also had acupuncture from Nicole — I had neck and back pain and she sorted it out in two treatments. I also had a message which was so good I fell asleep!
Whole-​patient Care? They’re not kidding!
Enjoy

So very nice there’s a clinic on 4^th avenue. It’s clean, spacious, I got attended to really quickly and felt like I was in good hands. Very happy to have a neighbourhood clinic. What took it so long?