Yaletown Medical Clinic

I am a long time patient of Dr Hassam, this morning i was at YTMC for a follow up visit. We in wait room had to listen to 2 women speak loudly & rudely to MOA’s (front desk girls). 1 complained about long wait, 2^nd, had other issues and made a scene. Wait’s are an unfortunate part of our Medical system. 2^nd, personal business should be discussed in private with Dr H, not in front of others in office. There was a delay for all patients in wait room this day, this happens at all clinic’s i have ever been to. Dr H’s office is a ‘Walkin Clinic’ & has regular patients as well, such as me, who also had a wait and i am a regular Patient.
Dr I Hassam is a fine Doctor and a nice guy who treats his patients professionally with respect and patience.
The MOA’s are great, over worked much of the time with all the walkin’s etc., and have earned & deserve respect. Far to often patients come in having a bad day or are in pain and expect to be seen & heard ‘Right Now’. That can not always be the case, some Patients require some extra time which usually puts the schedule behind. This morning the 2 MOA’s were made to feel embarrassed in front of an audience which was shameful & ignorant. I personally spoke to both girls (MOA’s)and apologized to them on behalf of myself, & assured them they are doing a good job & this will happen from time to time. All the Staff at YTMC have always been polite friendly and most of all ‘Professional’ to me.
I felt compelled to write this and should have done it long ago. Please be respectful and patient to Dr H and his staff and it will be returned. B I

The wait times at this clinic are beyond ridiculous, 3hrs and the reception tell you 45mins — they really have no clue. Of course it’s hard to gauge how long a patients case will take but could be way more organized .!

I went here when I couldn’t wait for an appointment with my family physician — I managed to chop off a good portion of finger, but not a good enough portion to go to the ER. Using a ‘safety’ razor. Anyways, I digress.
It was noon-​ish on a weekday, so there was nobody in the waiting room whatsoever. The front desk staff were a little clueless, asking me the same question several times — not because they didn’t understand me but because they hadn’t been listening — they were having a very involved discussion over who it was that liked or did not like whipped cream on their Starbucks drinks, and talking about their miniature Christmas tree which they were in the process of decorating.
I was shown to a room immediately, and only waited 10 minutes to see the doctor. The doctor was great, cleaned out my cut, gave me a tetanus shot, sent my records to my family doctor — even made a few jokes with me about razors. I would go back again — but really, the front desk staff need to get it together.

The wait times at this clinic are horrible, even with an appointment. Last time I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes and another 25 minutes in one of their depressing holding rooms. No air or windows, all dark and grey. This was with an appointment!!!
The front desk staff are pretty useless and look confused most of the time.
If you go by and see the waiting room half empty, remember that there are at least six or seven people sitting in holding rooms, so don’t think it would be a good place for a walk-​ins. But most people don’t realize that.
Dr Hassam double or triple books patients… a staff member admitted this to me.
Once you get to see him he is very nice, but it is a painful experience waiting and waiting.

The waiting time when I was there was two-​hour-​long. After I entering the diagnose room, I kept waiting for the doctor for another 40 mins. The interaction with the doctor is hard to describe. She didn’t introduce herself so I didn’t know her name. It feels like she wanted to «get rid of» me as soon as possible so she was not quite patient. If I have other choices next time, I guess I won’t come back for a second time.

I must have come at the right time (Saturday around 11am), because I only waited about twenty minutes to see a doctor. The short wait time was great, and the doctor was… okay. He didn’t ask many questions and didn’t seem too interested in really getting to know me or what was wrong. He got the job done though — I ended up having to get some bloodwork done so he gave me a requisition right away.
I’d definitely come back.

This clinic is horrible. Ive been in a room waiting for my doctor to come for 40 minutes to do my vaccination which it will only takes for about 30 seconds. I Didnt got a vaccination shot eventually because i was going to late for school. Waiting at the lounge area for 30 mins and waiting in a room about 40 minutes is very unorganized way of getting things done. This clinic is NOT recommended.

After more than a month for my visit to Dr. Chu I never get the referral that I went there for. She said that the reception will call me to give me the appointment but they didn’t.
Going to that clinic was a mistake and a waste of time from the beginning and I’ve should known that from the day I entered the doctor’s office and talking to her back.

The staff is terrible. The doctors do not keep their appointments. They get files confused. The staff just hate doing their job. I’ve watched my doctors type in referrals for their staff to follow-​up and make appointments only for the staff to claim they never got the orders to so even after I confirm with them that day that they understand what they are supposed to do. The doctors work out of many clinics so don’t really care about the staff problems in this clinic. The ONLY thing good about the YT Med Clinic is its location steps from my house. THE STAFF NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

Very rude doctor working today. I had a women’s concern. Waited 90mins, maybe because I hadn’t been there before? But other people that came In after me were getting seen to. Whoever the doctor was (east Indian) female, didn’t introduce herself. Showed no empathy, I had something horrible happen a couple of months ago, and didn’t even ask me about my previous medical history or anything. Had to do a urine test, didn’t even show me where the washroom was, so was walking aimlessly at the back. Did not even talk to me about general concerns as to what i was in there for, or offer me any advice or any symptoms or concerns that i should look out for. Total waste of time! And won’t be going back. Why is it so hard to find a good doctor that just cares. After all isn’t why you become a professional in the field?
Oh and also I forgot to mention when I sat down in the room. I told the doctor what I was there for. And straight away she looked down on my left hand to see if I was married. Either that or she was blinded by my nice wedding rings at the right time. Yes, I am old enough to do certain things.
And also I didn’t like the fact that whilst she was talking to me, she stood up the whole time with her arms crossed. Totally un interested. Almost like she was talking down on me.
Try to be more personable, please.

Meh. I like the doctors, in particular Dr. Hassam, but I’ve literally waited over 90 minutes for a scheduled appointment. No complaints regarding the staff, other than needing better time-​management skills or an dedicated scheduler.

Ugh, I’m sitting here in the room waiting for my doctor to show. My appointment was at 11:30 and it’s now 12pm. No sign of anyone. Why bother making an appointment really? It’s the same as a walk-​in.
The other frustrating thing is that when the doctor finally did show, he chatted with me for about 5 seconds. I don’t want a lot, I’m not a «let’s hold hands and look deep into my eyes» type of patient, but I also don’t like feeling like I’ve been blown off. No more… I’m outty.

I stopped going to this clinic on a walk-​in basis because I was so frustrated with the terrible demeanor of staff. Prepare for a long wait *even if you make an appointment*. There are other walk-​in clinics in Yaletown — you might want to take your business there.
(Also: the map icon is wrong — not sure why? It’s at Drake and Pacific)

I suppose we all have to grow up at some point and finding a family doctor in Vancouver was the beginning of that journey– so my mom told me:) Looking online at BC Physicians I came across doctors accepting patients at the Yaletown medical clinic. I chose this office and my physician based not on a recommendation but on the proximity to my apartment. Perhaps not the best criteria for selecting a doctor but so far so good. The clinic is clean and efficient although is routinely behind schedule.