Dickson Building @ QEII Health Sciences Centre

Like walking back in time...to the 1960s or 70s, or what I would imagine soviet Russian satellite countries with run down hospitals to be like. Drab yellow and faded orange paint cover the walls with a musky and stale oder pervading every inch of the ice cold and somehow also sweltering hot hallways. It's really depressing and something out of a horror movie.

Entered building right away. We were greeted with the usual mask and sanitizing station and then pointed to the elevator, to the third floor, with directions. Waiting room was empty, except for us and the wait was about half an hour.

I accompanied someone many months before covid at the cancer dept. and at that time after seeing the nurse but before seeing the doctor, there was this young student/intern/in residence who could speak mandarin/cantonse who came in the room. Didn't even bother shaking hands and looked grossed-out! I was not happy with the apathetic and lack of compassion treatment!! How in the world you deal with patients and didn't even want to go near or touch them.

Place is very busy! Staff at entrance query concerning Covid-19 status, and mandatory exchange of facial mask. Not sure of the need or value for a security guard sitting in a chair with legs crossed, or sitting with one leg under the other!

The care I've received here warrants this rating. The buildings are in quite bad shape making it harder for the staff, they don't even have the resources and tools to make their jobs more efficient. Thank you liver and GI team for your amazing commitment.

My boyfriend had dislocated his shoulder & had scheduled an appointment with his family doctor and after seeing him, she told him to go to the QEII right away to get an x-ray. She had said she was going to call the hospital to get him in within 15-20mins to get results as soon as possible. We rushed to the hospital thinking something was wrong & that maybe he would need surgery. Walking in, there's hardly any indication to tell you where to go, it's definitely easy to get lost. We eventually found what floor we were supposed to go to and there was no one there to tell us whether we needed to go to the counter to check in or to just sit down. We sat down anyways and a gentleman who didn't work there told us to grab a ticket, he could tell we weren't sure where to go. Every person who came in after us did the same thing so the same gentleman had to help them out as well. After waiting about 15 minutes to get checked in, my boyfriend told the woman at the desk that his doctor called to get him in right away and she laughed in his face saying "it doesn't work that way here." After that, we were told to go into the waiting room which was full and my boyfriend asked one of the staff if she knew the wait time & she essentially said 'I have no idea you just have to wait.' In total we ended up being there for about 45 minutes to an hour and his x-ray took about 5 minutes which is fairly quick considering there were a lot of people in line. Staff was not very friendly, every time they would walk past you they looked severely annoyed and it's very outdated inside, could use some touch ups. The service was fairly quick even though we were told it would take 15-20mins, I understand it's not always possible to go by an estimate but we're grateful we didn't have to wait hours. I think being young, the staff doesn't want to take you very seriously which is frustrating because all we wanted was to figure what was going on. Not a great experience all in all.

Google ask me for a review and I guess I have to provide one. Really can't say a whole lot. Service is slow like always. Have to wait a long time like always. And in desperate need of Renovations and updating

I've been to the Dickson building for multiple procedures now recently and my opinion on it doesn't differ much from the other buildings in the VG. It's quite easy to get lost in there, but fortunately there are volunteers and nurses all over the building to assist you. The place is always unfailingly clean and doesn't smell like sickness and bleach too much. The waiting rooms I've sat in have had at least a couple of power outlets so I could charge my kindle and other devices while waiting some procedures take a really long time. All in all it's a good place, but they need a renovation at some point. There are still so many fixtures from like 30 years ago.

Cancer is an ugly word and unfortunately it moves very fast. And with me anyway, it seems like there is a constant battle to stay one step ahead as it rears it's ugly head in different places throughout my body every few months. But I would like to say that with all the problems associated with this disease, I count my blessings that we have such a great cancer support system within our Province. When I was told I had to travel to the Dickson Center in Halifax, just the traveling alone was enough to make me sick 5 hrs each way. However, I was not expecting such professionalism and one-on-one meetings received upon my visits. Right from the girls on admission to the radiation specialists, I felt completely at ease and because of this have a very positive attitude that the treatments will be successful. I therefore want to thank Dr Wilke and everyone who I met and assisted me in going thru this process. I can't say it was fun but everyone and there were many treated me with the utmost respect and friendliness and all were positive in their comments. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for the people working within this department, but I wanted you to know that I am forever grateful that I had such a dedicated team of professionals leading me thru each step. Thank you again!

The people that help you along your journey here are the best in the world.

Directions to Dickson Building @ QEII Health Sciences Centre with public transportation

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