Ontario appoints former federal Liberal health minister as chair of primary care team
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is appointing former federal Liberal health minister Jane Philpott to a new role overseeing attempts to connect every Ontarian to primary care within the next five years.
The Ontario Medical Association says there are more than 2.5 million Ontarians without a family doctor.
Philpott, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen's University and director of its School of Medicine, says in a statement that she wants to see 100 per cent of Ontarians attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner working in a publicly funded team.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones says there is no one she trusts more than Philpott to achieve that goal.
Philpott's new role as chair of a new primary care action team in the Ministry of Health starts Dec. 1 and the government says she will draw on an interprofessional model of primary care that she designed with colleagues in the Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team.
The government says the plan will include ensuring better service on weekends and after-hours, reducing administrative burden on family doctors and other primary care professionals and improving connections to specialists and digital tools.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 plead guilty in B.C. murder of former Air India suspect Malik
Two men charged in the killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a British Columbia court.
Death toll from B.C. atmospheric river climbs as driver found dead, another presumed drowned
Mounties on Vancouver Island say one person is dead and another is presumed to have drowned after two vehicles were found submerged in a river following heavy rains that washed out roadways across British Columbia.
Frozen waffles recalled across Canada, U.S. over Listeria concerns
A U.S.-based food manufacturer that supplies frozen waffles to major grocery chains across North America has launched a voluntary recall over concerns its products carry the potential for illness.
'You are not my king,' Indigenous Australian senator yells at visiting King Charles
An Indigenous senator told King Charles III that Australia is not his land as the royal visited Australia's parliament on Monday.
How an off-duty lifeguard found a missing 17-year-old in the ocean
It was a typical Wednesday evening for Noland Keaulana, who was fixing his truck at his grandparents’ house when he received an alert on his phone about a 17-year-old missing off the Honolulu coast.
Cubans struggle with an extended power outage and a new tropical storm
Cuba's widespread blackouts stretched into their fourth day as Hurricane Oscar crossed the island's eastern coast with winds and heavy rain.
High grocery and rental costs plaguing Canadians, new survey finds
High grocery and rental costs are squeezing lower-income Canadians even as inflation trends downward, a new survey suggests.
LIVE @ 8 P.M. ADT New Brunswickers head to the polls to vote in provincial election
New Brunswickers will cast their votes today in what is predicted to be a tight provincial election.
'I regret leaving my cat there': Eastern Ontario cat rescue under investigation, allegations of abuse, neglect
A cat rescue southwest of Ottawa is under investigation after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records have surfaced.