2023-12-05 23:09:00
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Charlotte patients and medical professionals report local healthcare systems are not keeping up with city growth citing months of backups for appointments.
“I can’t get an appointment when I need it: when I’m sick. Your illness is not in the schedule. If you’re not feeling well. It’s not on schedule,” explained Charlotte resident Daneen Carroll.
She moved to Charlotte in 2017, and in recent years she said it has become harder and harder to schedule visits with her doctors.
Carroll said, “My experience in New York, if I would call the day of and say, ‘Hey, I’m not feeling well.’ Maybe they can’t get me in like that day but they’ll make sure to get me an appointment later that day or the next day and squeeze me in because they know I’m not feeling well.”
She said she tried booking appointments at both Atrium Health and Novant Health and repeatedly found appointments were booked months in advance.
“I’m calling in and they’re like, ‘Well, hey, listen, unfortunately, we–you can’t see this doctor or their colleague’s not available. But why don’t you go to urgent care in the interim or the emergency room?’ No, that’s not an answer,” she said.
She said in one instance, she even booked a plane ticket to New York to see a specialist there, and flew back to Charlotte before an appointment in Charlotte would have been available.
Charlotte Resident Daneen Carroll(Credit: WBTV/ClaireKopsky)
Over the phone and in-person with medical staff in Charlotte, she has tried to understand why there is such a backlog.
“Why is this an issue?” Daneen asked, “‘Well, we understand post COVID, you know, we’re just trying to get back on track post COVID. We know there’s been an influx of people moving from out of state.’ Okay, I understand that. But what is the leadership doing to mitigate that? How are they speaking to the patients? What information? ‘Well, we’re working on that.’”
WBTV asked Atrium Health and Novant Health too. Atrium declined to answer any questions. Novant said they have increased their “number of physicians by 20% in the last five years.”
Both Hospital groups urged patients to try urgent care facilities. Atrium’s advice included urgent care video visits. A Novant Health Spokesperson said if an appointment is not available within 24 hours at a patient’s home office the healthcare system utilizes “a care neighborhood model and schedule them at a nearby clinic. Locally, we also have 17 urgent care clinics and a pediatric following-hours clinic, offer on-demand virtual care options where individuals can connect with someone via video 24/7 and operate a nurse triage line.”
But Carroll and other patients say when they are sick, they want to see the doctor that knows them best.
“That extra week that might be a life or death situation for someone. That’s life or death we’re talking regarding.,” said Carroll. “This is not you know, people that are just trying to get a regular appointment for an annual scheduled checkup. This is somebody that needs help right now. So what can we do to make this system this whole situation better?”
A charlotte woman tries to book a doctor’s appointment at Atrium Health for an immediate health need but appointments are only available a month or two later.(Credit: WBTV/ClaireKopsky)
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