Westside Doctors

We are this week until Friday December 30, and will close for New Years weekend, re-opening at 9am on Tuesday Jan 2. Happy Holidays!

We will be closed from Friday to Monday of Thanksgiving weekend, reopening on Tuesday.

Flu shots are coming in at the beginning of October starting with the adjuvanted ones for those over age 65. After that, we should be expecting more supply in mid to late October for everyone!

Dear Patients,

The following are our holiday hours for this year:

Thursday December 24 to Monday December 27 - CLOSED
Tuesday December 28 to Thursday December 30 - 9am to 8pm
Friday December 31 to Sunday January 2 - CLOSED
Monday January 3 - 9am to 8pm

Flu shots are in!
Please call for an appointment if you would like one.

For those eligible and still needing COVID vaccines, these are the West Toronto mobile clinics with walk-in spots open for next week.

Hours for Canada Day Long Weekend:

Thursday July 1 to Saturday July 3 CLOSED
Sunday July 4 OPEN FOR PHONE CALLS from 10am to 2pm
Monday July 5 RESUMING NORMAL HOURS 9am to 8pm

Enjoy the weekend and stay safe!

Good News! Our community is starting COVID 19 vaccinations for those age 80 and older and sign-up is available now: https://vaccineto.ca/landing

Please note that they are only accepting patients with birth years of 1941 or prior, and that expansion of eligible groups will be announced accordingly.

Photo of Dr. Reilly vaccinating Dr. Ng with her second dose for attention!

Good news!
All 5 of the Westside Doctors are now vaccinated.
There is hope! Please say safe.

The first two of the Westside Doctors to get the COVID19 vaccine. We are so happy for Drs. Blumenfeld and Reilly!

FLU SHOTS are finally in! We got 200 doses this batch and will not receive anymore until the week of October 26, so it's first come-first serve for now. Please call if you'd like to book for the vaccine. For those that don't get one in the next couple weeks, don't worry. There are no flu cases here yet so we may have a delayed or mild year and early vaccination is not necessary.

Hope everyone had a healthy summer. This is our fall update:

We are still offering telephone appointments for most and in-person visits for those requiring an exam or procedure. Bloodwork is still being done in our office but this must be pre-booked.

Dr. Rabbani is back from maternity leave!
Dr. Reilly will be staying on for now to care for Dr. Selke's patients, as Dr. Selke has closed her family practice in order to focus on her environmental health practice downtown.

Flu shots are on their way but we do not have a delivery date yet. Patients over age 65 will be called when the adjuvanted version is available for them and all others can check this page, our voice message, or call in October to inquire.

Stay safe!

We want to remind everyone that we are still open during this time, just that many appointments are done by phone instead of in person. Physicals and preventive health care appointments are postponed in order to promote social distancing and so we can address more medical issues in a timely manner. You may continue to call and make appointments for your doctor's usual schedule.

In order to lessen the burden on ERs and walk in clinics, Westside Doctors will open on Sundays from 10am to 12pm for telephone care, including prescription renewals. In-person visits cannot be done on Sundays as the building is locked.

For some facts about Covid-19 from the Ontario Medical Association, please see this link: https://www.virusfacts.ca/

Coronavirus Doctors in Ontario are ensuring the facts are known about COVID-19. The risk of transmission is relatively low. It is important that Ontarians take preventative measures to further reduce the risk of the spread of infectious disease and the spread of misinformation.

St. Joseph’s Health Centre has opened a COVID-19 Assessment Site where you can go if you think you may need testing. They are allowing mildly symptomatic patients to self-refer. This is not a replacement for the ER if your symptoms are severe and require urgent medical care.

Sunnyside Building, 1st floor – enter through the Sunnyside Avenue entrance
Open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., last patient to be registered at 8:30 p.m.

Office Policy Change during COVID-19 Crisis:

Starting Monday, we will be providing OHIP-covered telephone advice in lieu of in-person visits for patients with fever and/or respiratory symptoms, or anyone else who can have their issue safely dealt with over the phone. Please call as normal to book an appointment and you will be advised if you can have a doctor call you instead of coming in.

If you are ill and need to cancel an appointment within a 24hr timeframe, the fee is waived for now, as long as you inform reception of your cancelation before your actual appointment time.

There should be a COVID-19 testing centre set up at St. Joseph's Healthcare Centre this coming week. Please call Public health at 416-338-7600 for guidance if you think you have contracted it.

Remember to practice social distancing and avoid unnecessary outings or travel during this pandemic.
Please stay safe and healthy!

We understand that during this time there is a lot of concern and worries about the COVID-19 virus and we are certain that you have all read a lot of information about this virus. As a family medicine clinic, we are trying to provide a safe place for our patients to come for their medical issues and routine visits. As such we are making the following recommendations for you in regards to the COVID-19, both for your safety as well as public safety.

If you are a healthy person with mild to moderate symptoms of the cold or flu (cough, congestion, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches) and a fever, STAY HOME. The common cold or influenza usually improves with time and conservative management.

If you are feeling sick but not critically ill, STAY HOME.

If you are having trouble breathing, feeling severely ill, are immunosuppressed, are over the age of 65, or have chronic illness, CALL PUBLIC HEALTH TO COORDINATE FOR EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT.

We do not have the means to test you for COVID-19, so it would not be useful for you to come to check up or make sure you don't have the infection. If you are concerned about having contracted the COVID-19 virus, please stay home and contact Toronto Public Health:

Phone: 416-338-7600
TTY: 416-392-0658

Email: [email protected]

TELEHEALTH ONTARIO

For medical advice, you may also contact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. Telehealth Ontario is a free, confidential service you can call to get health advice or information. A Registered Nurse will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sincerely, the doctors and staff at Westside Doctors

Update to remaining holiday hours:

Dec 31: closed
Jan 1: closed
Jan 2: 9-8

Happy holidays!

Flu shots are finally in! Quantities are still a bit limited but we are receiving ongoing supply into November.

We have the regular, pediatric and senior injection formulations, but the government is not supplying nasal sprays for kids this year.

Please call the office to book your flu shot!

We are happy to announce the addition of two locum physicians, Dr. Kate Reilly (left) and Dr. Mary Clare Luca (right).
Dr. Reilly will provide maternity leave care for Drs. Rabbani and Selke until next summer. She also specializes in Sports Medicine as well as Family Practice. Dr. Luca will be starting in mid September to cover Dr. Ng's upcoming 2-month leave. Our clinic schedule remains the same during the leaves and your health needs will continue to be addressed as usual.

We are sorry to announce that due to medical reasons, Dr. Selke has needed to take an early maternity leave effective immediately. For the time being, Dr. Helen Jin has agreed to cover her shifts on Tues and Thurs, but we are in the process of looking for a longterm locum who can cover her family practice for the next two years.

We finally have a good supply of ALL flu vaccine options: regular, high-dose for seniors AND flumist nasal spray for children!

Flu shots are finally here! We have a limited supply of the adjuvanted 3-strain dose for those over age 65 and the regular 4-strain dose for those aged 6 months to 64 years. The flumist nasal spray for children is still pending. Call the office to book an appointment and reserve your shot. Much more supply will be coming soon!

We are expecting to get flu shots in the office around mid October, starting with the adjuvanted version for people over 65, then followed by the regular version for the rest of us. We are also expecting to provide the Flumist nasal vaccine for children again this year. Please check our page over the next few weeks as we confirm when each type of flu vaccine arrives!

We will be closed this coming weekend from Friday until Sunday, but will be open for Easter Monday.

Thank you for all the interest and referrals in the past few months. Due to overwhelming demand, both Drs. Selke and Rabbani have filled their family practices for now and have stopped taking new applications until further notice. If you were already on the waiting list, you may still be contacted as new space opens up in the coming months. We will advise again when the waiting list for either doctor is open again.

Happy New Year Everyone!
Just a reminder that Dr. Rabbani and Dr. Selke are still taking on new patients for family practice. You can stop by the office or email [email protected] to get a new patient application form.

FLU SHOTS ARE HERE!
Currently we only have the injectable vaccination but nasal sprays for children should be arriving soon. Please call our office to book an appointment.

We will be closed this Saturday, October 7, for Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Turkey Day!

Faces of the Front Desk: Leovic, Cecille and Ester

Due to the closure of Roncesvalles Avenue for the Polish festival, our clinic will be CLOSED this weekend.

Our urologist, Dr. Blumenfeld, and medical assistant, Cecille, taking a well-deserved break between consultations and vasectomies.

For the last long weekend of the summer, we will be closed on Saturday. The clinic re-opens on Tuesday September 5 at 9am.

We have been receiving requests to make the New Patient Form available electronically for those who don't want to come in person to fill one out. New potential patients can email us at [email protected] to request a blank copy and return it to us by mail, fax or in person.

Please note email is NOT a secure way to transmit personal health information. This email address is only for dissemination of blank forms. Thank you for your interest in our clinic!