Growing number of people with no family doctor in the north

The Ontario College of Family Physicians says new data shows that nearly 32,000 people in the Greater Sudbury, Manitoulin Island and Parry Sound area don’t have a family doctor and that this number could nearly double in the next two years.

The college said it’s a crisis that is getting worse and urgent action is needed by the province.

“Ontario is facing a major health-care crisis right now and it's an exodus of physicians from family medicine,” said Dave Courtemanche, an Ontario College of Family Physicians board member and executive director of City of Lakes Family Health Team in Sudbury.

“It’s happening right across the province but particularly here in Northern Ontario.”

Courtemanche said how much family doctors are paid is a big issue.

“If you talk to family physicians across the province, they will tell you that No. 1 the province needs to address compensation levels it hasn’t kept up with inflation,” he said.

“These family physicians are essentially running a small business and it simply hasn’t been viable for the last couple of years.”

Courtemanche added the administrative burden on family doctors prevents them from seeing patients.

“On average, family physicians spend 19 hours a week on administrative paperwork -- that needs to change,” said Courtemanche.

The Ontario Medical Association echoed that call.

“(We need to) increase the number of teams that support a family doctor so that they are able to do the job of being a doctor,” said OMA president Andrew Park.

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The College of Family Physicians is also calling on the provincial government to build on its partnership with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in preparing family doctors of the future to be ready to practice right across northern Ontario.