Health and Counselling Services

It was ok, at first going there. My experience has been with Dr. Powers. He only sets aside 10 minutes per patient, the receptionist even told me this, it’s not an assumption. I guess he’s really trying to get as much money as possible off those OHIP cards. At first I liked him, but my most recent experience with him was this week when I requested a requisition for an ultrasound because I am pregnant. He literally refused, he went on saying it’s unethical, the province shouldn’t be paying for that … Bud, I just need a requisition. (5 days later edit: a receptionist for an ultrasound place explained to me that the specific ultrasound I was requesting for goes on the physicians ohip) He was actually getting irritated and started raising his voice. There was a point where I actually asked “sooo, you won’t give me one? ” And he didn’t know what to say he’s just like I don’t understand why they need one? - I couldn’t and still don’t understand what the defence was for holding off and refusing to give me one. I spoke to a woman on the weekend who has given birth two times and as she was exchanging her experience with me, since I’m a first time mom with my pregnancy she said “ Serena, but you’re family doctor has a least done the heartbeat check to see that everything is developing fine? ” I said “no, nothing. No ultrasound as of yet. He hasn’t mentioned me getting one and I am just learning as I read about pregnancy what is needed along the way …” she was shocked. She’s like “what - you should at least have one in first trimester and he should have told you to get one …”

I’m not leaving the situation quiet like this. The “care” I received as a close to 3 month first - time pregnant woman is ridiculous. I’m making a complaint to CPSO and he can figure things out from there. If you’re going to be careless, retire!

Was Holding back for so long, but I would like to open up today.so that other fellow students can get a fair idea about this place. I have been there a couple of times, and my experience was the same. The treatment and services you get at this place depends on your race. First of all, They identify you as people of color, if your skin color is not light. There are four super racist white ladies at the front. A special mention to the lady, who sits at seat 2. Again when you enter the premises, that lady is not not gonna greet you with smile or hello, she is gonna give you most disgusted look possible, of course if you are POC, that's how they see humans. Adding insult to the injury, if you state your situation, symptoms. She is gonna answer it most manipulated way possible. She literally judges patients. She is gonna ask the questions she is not allowed to.and You cannot even dare to ask her, are you allowed ask these questions? If you are brave enough like me to stand up and dismantle their pre-determined questions.she is gonna ask you to either leave the place or get a manager. Manager is also one of them.she is gonna pass the bucks.when I ask, I want to report the lady in the front. Then guess what? She went outside, grabbed a pen and paper and It took her one hour to do that. That's how she reports, on a blank paper. Doctors there aren't any different.when I explained my situation that I don't wanna take medication.it would be great if he could refer me to a therapist. He agreed.he said he is gonna send me an email referring to a therapist alter on that day. Its been over 3 months, I am still waiting for his email. Moreover, you could clearly see different treatment and discrimination while waiting in the reception area. If you are struggling emotionally and mentally, this is not the place where you go. They run this place by giving manipulative answers. Again, if you identify yourself POC, according to their dictionary. Don't go there. It's just another money making machine.

Very long wait times just to have a doctor see me for about 5 seconds and dismiss everything I said. He laughed at me when I tried to tell him my symptoms and seemed to have his mind made up that I was exaggerating before I even opened my mouth. Fully dismissed me when I asked him to check for more than one condition. I felt as though he was trying to make me leave as fast as possible. Dr said to take advil for the pain and that if it worsened to the point at which I can’t breathe anymore to go to the ER. Other reviews are entirely correct about the doctors here cutting off/being rude to patients.

The ladies at the front desk are ignorant. They try to make things about race. They ask personal questions that they have no reason to be asking, then gossip about it to there friends so others can hear in hopes they poke fun and make racist jokes.bad service overall.

I (Carleton Student) came in for a walk-in appointment, and within 30 minutes, a doctor was attending to me. Thankfully the office wasn’t very busy, so there were little wait times for walk-ins. The secretary was kind and filled out my file, as this was my first time at this walk-in. Doctor Himesh Prasad was kind, respectful and quick to the point. He promptly addressed my injury and offered a temporary and long-term solution to my problem. He also gave me a referral to get checked by a specialist and a prescription for antibiotics. Within 1h20m, I was out! Thank you for being so caring <3

I've had GREAT experiences with some of the healthcare folks here - Dr. Tierstan and the mental health nurse Jessica are awesome and willing to take their time to educate patients. I've seen Dr. Powers a couple of times, and so have my peers, and he's been dismissive of the patient experience and won't take the time to right a referral if he's already writing you a prescription. I completely understand that the healthcare system is overrun and he's doing his job, but it's not the service we're hoping for.

Absolutely terrible, the front desk is so rude. They want you out asap they make you feel very rushed and when I said i felt uncomfortable doing something they said too bad. Even over the phone the receptionist is so rude, and their wait times are ridiculous, I never want to go to the campus clinic again, pray for me that I don’t get sick.

Carleton students deserve better than paying into a health care plan that provides subpar services and rude receptionists. CUSA and Carleton need to wake up and fix these issues. Edit: You can tell that this clinic asks people to give fake 5 star reviews too.

Front staff is rude. Unless you're from another country. Good luck getting treatment. Even though this is an Ottawa university?

Took to long for a little apportionment, had to miss all my classes when they said it’ll take 30, still here been 3 hours

I've had several good experiences here, especially with the doctors and nurses. They're nice and they actually listen to your concerns and address them, you don't feel rushed. The technician in charge of drawing blood is the best I've ever encountered, it never hurts and she's so nice. I get this done semi-regularly so this means a lot - I miss her in the summer.

My only complain is with the reception. I believe only two of them know what they're doing, and only one is friendly. One of them has a horrendous personality, she acts like you exist to spite her and that scheduling an appointment is akin to pulling out her teeth. She's so bitter and it's like that every time I interact with her, on the phone or in-person. I've tried being cheery and chipper, going out of my way to complement or cheer her up but it's like she hates everyone. Sometimes i get anxiety about making appointments for fear of encountering her.

No general experience regarding medical care, but was turned away by extremely unhelpful and rude reception.

Front desk lady is super rude. She asks you questions and when you answer those questions then out of the blue she will look at you like you’re stupid! I don’t think she even listens to what you say, Super super RUDE!
I have always had a bad experience here. Doctors are okay though but the receptionist needs therapy.

I want to rate this clinic highly because every doctor and lab technician I've interacted with has been amazing.

The administrative aspect and booking though is horrible.

No priority booking, walk ins take forever (got there at 8: 20 right when they opened, got seen by a nurse at 9: 15, and saw a doctor at 9: 50) which wasn't horrible if I didn't have an appointment right after.

The earliest appointment I could get for an acute infection was 2-3 weeks out.

When I was at my walk in, I was passed around through multiple nurses, and rooms, and it seems as if at one point they forgot I was waiting there (after I was taken in by a nurse) as I waited after getting my blood pressure taken for about 30 minutes.

I lost my wallet unfortunately in my panic and ended up having to cancel my appointment (which I was already 20+ minutes late to). When I told the front desk it seemed like I was a bother and that it was low priority.

Which would be alright if I didn't have a midterm I needed my student ID to take.
Still waiting for my wallet, it's now 10: 30 when I'm writing this.

The only reason it's a 2* review is because of dr. York Lyon who was great

Overall, if you book an appointment it's a decent experience, but if you go for a walk-in be prepared to be disappointed and confused.

I've had mostly virtual contact with this clinic, and my health practioner is amazing. Jessica, you rock.

Receptionists are very rude. I understand how busy they are and stressful their job may be at times so I try to be as polite as possible when speaking on the phone. However, I’m constantly cut off, hung up on before I’m finished speaking and genuine questions are met with attitude.

This is a very bad clinic. The staff here is discriminative towards people who are different and they are very rude. The doctors are dismissive and won't listen to you. They don't treat you with care and respect. I always have had bad experience going to this clinic as an international student. I hope the university administration does something about it.

Front desk lady was super RUDE to me, they always are. This time I was simply inquiring about something the whole time this lady treated me as though I’m dumb for asking questions, cutting me off every time I tried to speak. She was so rude and mean but this time I wasn’t having it so I stood my ground and made her listen to me respectfully it was like standing up to a bully! She tried to hung up and I had stop her so I can book an appointment which was another hustle. Mind you i was given the time, the day and the name of the doctor i’d be meeting, the usual. However, the day before the appointment I called to confirm since I hadn’t received a confirmation text. Tell me why I find that this lady never booked me, I was told there was no booking for me that day. Basically you gotta sit and take the attitude or you won’t get booked in.

Dr. O’Donnell is the best Doctor I’ve ever had and I wish all doctors were like her. Unfortunately some of the other doctors at the clinic can be dismissive and impatient, and have occasionally given me entirely opposite advice for treatment.

I love the nurse and my doctor here, but the front staff is super rude. They will assess you and make you feel so uncomfortable. I was asking the front staff if i can speak to the nurse and she went on assessing if i took my medication right. I do not need to explain my illness to a receptionist. Please know you job responsibilities.

Some receptionists are very rude. Quite a few are curt with customers and have a mean tone. They are also transphobic. I heard some of them discussing someone’s pronouns (loudly, while I was waiting to see a doctor) calling them “it” or misgendering them behind their back. This is extremely unprofessional for a medical clinic. Receptionists should go through better training to be aware of their transphobia and maybe learn some communication skills. However, the doctors and nurses are nice and helpful in my experience.

Front desk staff/ladies are not kind at all, they like to gossip behind the desk and are picky and choosy with who they are nice and who they will serve best. Extremely unfortunate as this is the place students are supposed to get help, not be the cause of more distress.

Professional, fast and compassionate administration and incredibly helpful doctors. Compared to the rest of Ottawa’s health services, this place is a real gem.

Urgent care walk-in is useless and pointless cuz you will have to call them and make an appointment anyways (they don't inform you on the website). It has been three years since I went to Carleton and I have never had good experience with this clinic, and this time is the worst. I came in early in the morning for their urgent walk-in clinic. However, I was informed that I needed to call them first and let the doctor decide if I needed to visit the clinic. I understood that but they should have specified on the website. The staff was disrespectful and implying that I should not just come in recklessly during the pandemic. I am truly disappointed for this kind of services provided by the university to students.