If you’ve been to a hospital in our region lately, it’s likely that you had a long wait time. If you’re looking for a family doctor, it’s likely that you’re on a waiting list. Family doctors in rural northeastern Ontario say emergency rooms are at higher risk of closure this fall than ever.
Over the summer, the Ontario government offered an enhanced program to increase funding to traveling doctors to attract more locums to help out remote communities. But this program is due to end on September 30. The approaching deadline is a cause for concern for family doctors across the region as they worry that other support for locum doctors is not enough to keep them in the region.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine was established to help with this crisis, but demand is growing. The president and CEO of Northshore Health Network has said they have no permanent doctors for the Thessalon site and rely entirely on locums.
To combat the physician shortage and keep the emergency rooms operating, the Ontario College of Family Physicians is calling for more investment in recruitment programs to bring doctors to the north. It also wants the province to provide a strategy to ensure positive working conditions for existing doctors along with peer support.
Ontario Green leader and MPP for Guelph Mike Schreiner released the following statement this afternoon warning that emergency rooms in rural northeastern Ontario are at high risk of closure this fall.
“The warnings we’re hearing about looming ER closures in Northern Ontario are deeply troubling – and they’re yet another stark sign of a healthcare system permanently on the brink of collapse. Northerners shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’ll be able to access emergency care when and where they need it. They need a government that sees the value in accessible emergency care for the North. Not one that underspends at every opportunity and sells off public services to private profiteers. Ontario Greens support calls from the Ontario College of Family Physicians for enhanced locum program funding to prevent fall closures, and for increased investment in recruitment programs to bring much-needed doctors to the North. We’ll continue pushing this government to implement a real plan to ensure fair wages, benefits and working conditions for all healthcare workers.”
