A woman insisting her son be examined by a “white doctor” at a Mississauga walk-in clinic on Sunday didn’t shock many medical community members who say it’s not an isolated incident, rather part of a bigger problem.

The incident at Rapid Access to Medical Specialists clinic, which sparked international backlash and prompted several to come forward with similar stories, was recorded on camera by Hitesh Bhardwaj, who was sitting in the waiting room at the time.

In the video, an unidentified woman repeatedly asks clinic staff to see a “white doctor” who “doesn’t have brown teeth” and “speaks English” to treat her son, who she claims has chest pains.

Ontario Medical Association president-elect Dr. Nadia Alam who practices family medicine in Georgetown, Ont. says she was “horrified.”

“It brought back memories of racism that I dealt with as a child, racism I dealt with as a medical student, as a resident and even as a practitioner,” Alam told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

'That kind of hateful and racist behaviour is unacceptable'

Reaction to the video attracted comment from Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who denounced the woman’s actions and said the province’s medical community won’t tolerate racism.

“That kind of hateful and racist behaviour is unacceptable no matter where it happens,” Hoskins said in a statement to CTV News Toronto. “Ontario’s strength comes from the diversity of its people and our government remains committed to fighting discrimination.”

Premier Kathleen Wynne also stepped into the debate, saying she was “shocked” by the woman’s racist rant.

“There is no place for that kind of behaviour, that kind of racism and hatred, quite frankly, in our society,” Wynne said on Tuesday.

'This is a bigger issue'

But more still needs to be done to confront racism in the healthcare system, Alam says, especially when it comes to doctors.

Legal policy enables doctors to refuse to treat a patient if they feel threatened, in similar situations like those at the Mississauga walk-in clinic, but there’s a “grey zone,” Alam added.

If doctors refuse to treat a patient, they may worry about a complaint being filed against them with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario – which regulates doctors in the province.

The provincial regulator says it doesn’t have a policy to address that situation, but stressed that the Ontario Human Rights Code states all those who provide services in the province are entitled to do so free from discrimination.

Under it policies, doctors may also consider cutting ties with a patient whose behaviour becomes inappropriate or abusive.

But Alam says “this is a bigger issue.”

“We need to not just find solutions to prevent it and deal with it, but also how to recover from it because it hurts at the end of the day, it just plain hurts to be devalued as a human being,” she said.