A doctor treating Rob Ford is asking the media to take a step back in the search for the Toronto mayor, saying the constant attention is jeopardizing the health of other patients, Doug Ford said Wednesday.

The doctor's order came a week after the Toronto mayor announced he was taking a leave of absence to seek professional help for substance abuse.

"You guys need to slow down," Doug Ford told CTV Toronto Wednesday, speaking at City Hall. "The doctor called me. They asked, please, tell the media to stop. This is not about just Rob, this is about all the other patients."

Doug Ford declined to answer when asked how the media could be calling the mayor's treatment facility, since its location is unknown.

He later clarified to CP24 that Rob Fordwas "nowhere near" Toronto.

Doug Ford also noted his brother is an in-patient at his rehab centre, meaning the mayor is living at the facility while getting treatment. He was responding to rumoured Rob Ford sightings that have sprung up in recent days, including one at a west-end Tim Horton's.

It has been rumoured that Ford was staying at a facility in Guelph, Ont., but the addictions centre told CTV Toronto that they would neither confirm nor deny a patient's presence.

Regardless of where the mayor has been staying, a Toronto Sun columnist who spoke to Rob Ford on the phone said he noticed a change in the mayor's attitude in the week that he's been out of City Hall.

Joe Warmington told CP24 that he heard "remorse" in Ford's voice.

"The anger seemed to be peeled away and he seems to be coming to terms with everything that's happened, and not really as much blaming other people but kind of looking at himself."

It seems that City Hall is not far from the mayor's mind though.

Ford has been asking for call sheets and working the phones from the rehabilitation facility during the times he's allowed to contact the outside world, Warmington said.

Any contact with the outside world, including phone calls, is rare in the first week of addictions treatment, a representative from Bellwood Health Services told CTV's Katie Simpson.

There has been no indication that Ford is staying at Bellwood, but a representative from the addictions centre was willing to comment on the general treatment plan followed by most programs in Ontario.

Still, Ford has been calling constituents in between therapy sessions, Warmington said, explaining that the mayoral race is still at the front of the mayor's mind.

"It sounds like he's going to be on the ballot. That's certainly his intention. He talked about it in a very robust way that he's looking forward to winning this election."

Though Ford appears to be getting help, it's likely he will need to take more time off to get past his issues, according to Warmington. He added that Ford said that he's taking part in group sessions and individual therapy, but there isn't a specific timeline on his recovery.

"He's going to do whatever it takes and it sounds like it's going to be more than the original 30 days," said Warmington.