New report reveals women feel dismissed and overlooked by Canada’s healthcare system
Health28.05.2025
It’s no secret that Canada’s healthcare system has been under strain for years – but a new report is shining a light on just how deeply that’s affecting women.
This week, virtual care platform Maple released a survey of more than 1,500 women across Canada, asking how they feel about the current state of healthcare.
The results were telling.
More than half of respondents said the system doesn’t meet their needs, and nearly 75 per cent said they don’t feel taken seriously when seeking care.
Digging deeper, 62 per cent said they’ve delayed or skipped an appointment because of long wait times, while over a third reported experiencing a delayed or missed diagnosis – clear signs, according to Maple CEO and co-founder Dr. Brett Belchetz, of a system that’s no longer working as it should.
“Through our latest report, we’re seeing the consequences on women of a system that isn’t built for the realities of how people live today,” he said in a press release. “Delays, misdiagnoses and the inability to access timely care — these aren’t edge cases. They point to structural gaps that can’t be solved with small incremental changes. The care model itself has to evolve.”
When trust breaks down
One of the biggest challenges highlighted in the report is access to specialist care, particularly for hormone-related conditions.
Nearly 60 per cent of women said it was difficult to get an appointment with a specialist, even though many health issues that disproportionately affect women require expert diagnosis and treatment.
And even when women did get in the door, more than half – 55 per cent – said they left feeling dismissed or minimized, with symptoms overlooked and appointments rushed. That number jumped to nearly 70 per cent among women aged 18 to 34.
It’s a story we have heard time and again from women in our own community.
Megan Shaw described a very similar experience when she was struggling with unexplained bleeding and a lack of answers
“Initial test results seemed to rule out anything abnormal, but I knew that something was wrong,” she shared with The Honest Talk. “I was told again and again my tests were clear, as the bleeding only intensified, often accompanied by pain.”
Nearly one in three women said their physical health had declined because their concerns weren’t taken seriously, while over a quarter said the experience had negatively impacted their mental health.
It’s an issue Dr. Sony (Sukhbir) Singh – Professor and Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Newborn Care at The Ottawa Hospital/University of Ottawa – also flagged when he spoke with us previously.
“Many of these women are at the prime of their life. They are our doctors, our nurses, our financial leaders. And those years are taken away from them if they’re struggling with pain and all these symptoms,” he says.
“I’ve been told many times that I’m focused too much on this issue. But how do I apologize for caring too much about women’s pain, bleeding, and all these issues that are under-serviced?”
A national issue
From coast to coast, women reported a shared sense of frustration with the healthcare system.
In Alberta, 81 per cent said the system doesn’t reflect their needs – the highest rate in the country. Other provinces weren’t far behind, with dissatisfaction levels ranging between 70 and 80 per cent.
In Saskatchewan, 80 per cent of women also said navigating the system feels exhausting.
So what is Canada’s solution?
Despite the concerning stats, the report offers a glimpse of optimism.
Many women said they’re open to new models of care. In fact, 82 per cent said they had used or would be open to virtual appointments – seeing the benefit for issues like mental health, sleep challenges, or weight management.
Still, technology alone won’t fix the system.
“We won’t fix women’s health care by working around the edges,” said Belchetz. “We need a system that starts earlier, moves faster and delivers care with empathy, agency and trust.”
