While more Ontario residents have access to a family doctor, physicians are leaving the province at a rapid rate, a new report says.

The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) says recent government initiatives have resulted in as many as 350,000 more people having access to a doctor. What's more, statistics show the first decrease in the number of patients without a doctor in more than five years, the group says.

But the OMA warns more physicians are leaving Ontario for jobs in other provinces and in the United States.

The report, released Tuesday, states Ontario lost 188 doctors to other provinces and territories in 2005, a 24 per cent increase since 2003.

The province gained 174 doctors in 2005, but the net loss of 14 physicians is the first such decrease in recent memory, said OMA president Dr. David Bach.

MPP Elizabeth Witmer, the health critic for the Progressive Conservatives, called the net loss "very frightening."

The OMA warns more doctors are retiring and Ontario's aging population is putting more pressure on the stressed health-care system.

The group is calling on the provincial government to implement an incentive program to attract and retain doctors and prevent them from retiring early.

"Other provinces are doing a better job at retaining physicians -- we must put in place a physician retention program that makes Ontario competitive with other provinces," Bach said.

Health Minister George Smitherman on Sunday announced the government will launch a recruitment drive this spring, aimed at the 3,000 doctors who are registered to practise in Ontario but living elsewhere in North America.

The OMA also wants more residency positions in medical schools throughout Ontario.

The report states Ontario is short more than 2,000 physicians. Some of the difficulties patients are facing as a result include long wait times for specialist consultations and emergency room overcrowding.

Other findings in the report:

  • Ontario ranks seventh in the country in terms of the number of doctors per 100,000 residents;
  • As of 2005, Ontario has 176 physicians per 100,000 residents; and
  • Twenty per cent of all doctors are over the age of 60; and
  • Eleven per cent are over the age of 65.

With a report from CTV's John Musselman