Today I finally went ahead and walked out of the health clinic I've been going to for the past 3 years.

My health is generally excellent, the only pills I take are a statin for cholesterol. However, I'm expected to show up twice a year for a blood draw. Labs, it's called, where they do a total read of my blood numbers and then continue my statin prescription.

Every single time I've ever been in there it's taken as much as an hour sitting around with the hackers and coughers, either waiting to get my blood draw done or the visit 4 days later when the labs are back. Two trips twice a year, and even after I get into an exam room, I still end up waiting at least another hour.

So this time I went to a local lab, got the blood draw done in 5 minutes and left, and today, 4 days later, I went to the clinic for my appointment. The place was strangely empty, I was the only person in the waiting room and got into an exam room within 10 minutes, a first. But then I waited. And waited. Finally, after waiting for an hour and 45 minutes, I walked out and wished them a nice day at the desk.

The assistant or wh**ever her position is, asked me "Oh, you're not going to wait"? That did it. I turned back to her and gave her and everyone else in that place an earful, pointing out that I felt abused, I'd been waiting for an hour and 45 minutes, the last time there I waited for 2 hours, and that's a rotten way to treat people. Etc. and so forth, I ranted a bit more and left. I don't expect to go back, there's several other health clinics in the area.

What in HELL makes these doctors think that it's okay to leave people sitting in waiting rooms for hours past their appointment times? I don't care if they had an emergency or wh**ever, that's their problem and they have no right to shove their lack of efficiency onto their waiting patients, most of whom are ill or they wouldn't be there.

If it was flu season and they were swamped, that's different, but it isn't and there was only one person ahead of me. I know because a nurse said so.

We should have every right to expect to see the doctor within 30 minutes of our appointment time. If they're always going to be an hour late, at least, then they can change the way they schedule to compensate for that, hire in another doctor, or learn to use their time more efficiently.

This is the same trick that auto repair shops use. Take the job in and then let it set for ages until they finally get around to it, in order to not lose the job. Schedule patients in and then let them sit and wait, while the doctor chats away with some favorite rich, high paying patient or wh**ever.

I'm tired to death of people who abuse their positions, whether it's cops or clinic doctors, and I'm not going to put up with it any longer. My patience has ended. From now on, they get 30 minutes grace and then I leave. If I ever get seriously ill there's a hospital nearby and quick ambulance service.