'GTA is hard hit': Ontario Medical Association calls for more family doctors as millions are without one
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) made an impassioned plea Wednesday to bolster the number of family doctors in the province as 2.5 million Ontarians are currently without one.
According to the OMA, that number is expected to nearly double in less than two years, as the association predicts 4.4 million people will be without a family doctor then.
"We're seeing these numbers all across the province. Toronto is hard hit. The GTA is hard hit. We're seeing nearly one in four people who can't find a family doctor," said Dr. Dominik Nowak, a Toronto family physician and the current OMA president.
The OMA says it is concerned about the lack of people who want to be family doctors due to the burden and cost of running practices and the hours of paperwork that take them away from patients.
Nowak said the problem is a crisis and a catastrophe, leading some patients to deal with delayed cancer diagnoses or having to go to the emergency room for care.
"People are paying for it, in terms of their health and then our health care system is paying for it by supporting these expensive types of care."
Stephen Steele, 67, of Niagara-on-the Lake, Ont., knows how critical having that family doctor is. His referral for a hip replacement got lost in the system for two years.
Stephen Steele, 67, of Niagara-on-the Lake, Ont., knows how critical having that family doctor is. His referral for a hip replacement got lost in the system for two years.
"It was not a fun 33 months, I can tell you that," he said.
Eventually, he went back to his family doctor for help and was referred to another doctor for the surgery.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Ontario's health minister said the government has added 12,500 physicians to the workforce — a 10 per cent increase — since 2018.
"We have launched the largest medical school education system expansion in 15 years while breaking barriers for internationally educated physicians through programs like Practice Ready Ontario and making historic investments to expand inter-professional primary care teams, connecting 330,000 more people to primary care while taking action to tackle administrative burnout, freeing up 95,000 hours that family doctors can spend with their patients. Through our government's 2024 budget, we are doing even more, investing half a billion dollars to connect 600,000 more people to primary care," the statement reads.
Nowak said the OMA has been working with government, but that ambition and political will are needed to get the system back on track.
"Let's support those practices and let doctors be doctors so we can attach everyone in this province to a family doctor," Nowak said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
Group of Liberal MPs plan to verbally ask Trudeau to step down next week
Liberal MPs who have spent the last 10 days organizing to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside from the leadership of the Liberal Party plan to plead their case directly to him at next Wednesday's caucus.
W5 INVESTIGATES Ontario woman alleges sexual assault by junior hockey players; details what happened when she called police
The OPP has acknowledged that one of its employees did not follow the organization's policy when an alleged victim of sexual assault called a local detachment earlier this year to report an incident involving eight former junior hockey players.
Investigators name person of interest in disappearance of Vancouver Island woman
Mounties have released startling new details about their investigation into the disappearance of Amber Manthorne, who was reported missing on Vancouver Island more than two years ago, and is believed to have met with foul play.
Canada Revenue Agency fires 330 employees over CERB claims during pandemic
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has terminated 330 employees for inappropriately receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the pandemic, giving its final update on an internal review.
Harris' interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative first interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring on immigration policy and shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.
'The risk is real': Book on Manitoba mushrooms suspected to be written by AI
A Manitoba professor is warning the public after a book on regional mushrooms that he suspects is AI-generated was delisted from Amazon.
'Immediately stop using': Health Canada warns against use of banned baby walkers
Health Canada released an advisory Wednesday warning that baby walkers available online may pose a risk of injury and reminding consumers the items are already banned in Canada.
Trudeau says he has list of Conservatives vulnerable to, or engaged in foreign interference
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has refused to get the security clearance necessary to be briefed on a list of people in his party who are involved in or vulnerable to foreign interference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a federal commission of inquiry Wednesday.