Cannot recommend this doctor.
She is arrogant and always in a bad mood.
Her medical knowledge is from the 1980ies and she has virtually no idea on how to access modern technology. Will make fun of you for researching your medical condition or oncerns online !!!

Submitted March 23, 2022

Dr. Bruce-houle basis her practice off of her own personal ethics, beliefs, and biases. Her practice is so out dated, she probably hasn't picked up a dsm5 in 50 years. If you have mental health problems consider yourself screwed. She will find anything to blame for whats going on and its always the stupidest reasons that have no relevance to your problem. She blames the internet, piercings, previous pregnancies. She belittles your experiences by throwing back a comparison that again has no relevance. She has a god complex and just dismisses her patients, she seems to think she knows you off of 10 mins visit if she allows it last 10 mins. The only time she attempts to be a Dr. Is if she hears you've reached out to other Dr.'s.
She said something very detrimental to me, and I'm struggling so bad, she is a shame to the mental profession and her awful practices play a roll in people falling through the cracks. Im so thankful i had a supportive family to return home too, because i wasn't planning on waking up tomorrow morning. She is absolutely horrible, i will not be bringing my family to her practice and put money in her pocket.

Submitted March 12, 2022

How is it possible that this "Doctor" is allowed to practice medicine? Condescending....derogatory, skeptical.....lazy, angry and just zero follow through for ANYTHING!!!! Challenge or question ANYTHING she says....and she makes it known, how she doesn't believe anything you say. You would think she had shares in Epsom salt....as this is her GO TO ANSWER FOR ANY PROBLEM YOU HAVE. MY ADVICE IS REPORT ALL HER INAPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR TO THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS and go to a walk in clinic ( you will get treated better).....she CANNOT CONTINUE TO TREAT PEOPLE THIS WAY.......Many people as well as health care professionals know her reputation. Just because there is a Doctor shortage, you treat desperate people like dirt????? Lady get a life and learn from these reviews.......
Your horrible

Submitted Feb. 22, 2022

Gwen has been my Doctor for 8 years and I am very pleased with her. People who are irresponsible and run out of medicine should not expect to get immediate service from overworked physicians. Also if you have mental problems go to a psychiatrist as a family Doctor has only so many hours a day and is not trained to treat you. She does not nor should she sugar coat things.

Submitted Dec. 28, 2021

Go to a walk in. This lady does not take pride in her work nor care about her patients. Her only concern seems to be her dislike for technology. Do everyone a favour and retire. You are too mean to be a GP.

Submitted Dec. 8, 2021

Dr. Bruce-Houle is the most condescending, disrespectful, rude and simply mean doctor we have ever dealt with. With the lack of GP's we feel stuck with this miserable unprofessional woman but we are stuck with her. I have to agree with all of the comments about her mistreatment of her patients. It is not our problem that she hates computers. This should not be the excuse to be so rude to us or her inability to know what medications she has prescribed or tests she has requested. We have been stuck with this Dr. since she took over from our previous one and she never remembers us. Even had the gull to tell my daughter she was stupid for not knowing what an antibiotic is. When my son was hit on the head in a WCB claim she made him feel like her worse nightmare, never even sent him for xrays...because she hates filling out the forms 'especially on a computer'. On a recent visit she yelled at me for not carrying around my medications which she provided prescriptions for. Apparently, she simply renews them and does not review a person's file or even update the file (all because it is on a computer now) so she has no idea what her patients are taking. If you dare ask her to check your blood pressure (seems like should be a standard thing when you are on blood pressure meds) she chews your head off about only being paid to see you for one thing at a time. If I could give minus rating I would. It is time she was struck off. Stop allowing her to bully her patients and paying her wages. My daughter is scared to see her and refuses to go even though she needs to because of a disability.

Submitted Dec. 8, 2021

i wouldnt even give her 1 star. To put it bluntly, she should not practice medicine.
she is a very mean/rude individual. speeds you through like an assembly line. as a cancer survivor(different city,different doctor),epilepsy and sleep apnea. i went in today..issues with breathing. while she was on holidays i spoke with her replacement and she said i need to see a respirologist but to wait for Bruce Houle to come back to set up referral. mention this to Bruce Houle and she said "no"!! she wanted to take me off my meds that i have taken all my life for my epilespy saying that it will help and that i dont need them anyways!
and as a cancer survivor...something just not right so i mentioned it to her. she didnt want to hear about it or set up tests. she then stood up and said i need to go now. so i ended up waiting in the walk-in clinic at the hospital for 3 hours to get a referral for my tests and a blood test! the 3 hours at the hospital walk in clinic was well worth it. during my half hour speaking with a doctor there he had signed up all of my referral to specialists/ requisitions/tests and blood work. (got blood results back at the same time.) much better service there.

Submitted Oct. 8, 2021

Worst doctor in Nanaimo. Shows zero empathy towards mental health and treated me with so much disrespect belittling my mental health struggles with anxiety and depression. She had already upped my meds at the beginning of the pandemic and just sent me on my way today to cope with the result instead of trying to come up with a solution. I left feeling more crazy than before I went in. Her snide comments and unwillingness to even talk and treat me like a human make me even more sad for the state of mankind. Now I’m left scrambling trying to find a new doctor. She should NOT be practicing.

Submitted Sept. 10, 2021

No symthany towards people with disabilities telling me that there's nothing wrong with me when I'm in pain 24\7 and to go get a job and not listening to what wrong. Treatment never helped healing my body gotten worse over time

Submitted June 10, 2021

I wouldnt even give her 1 star.She is incompetent, rude, does not listen and take any issue seriously. Only able to have 5mins with her before she kicks you out. During Covid/phone appointments..she would hang up!! I cant even get referrals for a specialist from her. My family and i go to the hospital walk in to get referrals. I could go on. She is awful. I have nothing positive to say about her.

Submitted May 19, 2021