Ontario Medical Association's Prescription for northern Ontario
The opioid crisis is an ongoing problem in the north and officials in the area are actively speaking out looking for ways to improve the situation.
Right now, there are over 200 crosses on display at the Crosses for Change memorial in Sudbury, each one representing a life lost in an opioid overdose.
On Sunday, representatives from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) visited the downtown memorial at the corner of Brady Street and Paris Street in hopes of drawing more attention to the opioid crisis and mental health issues in northern Ontario.
"Sudbury alone has a shortage of approximately 40 psychiatrists. We know that they have struggles with infrastructure with acute and sub-acute beds for mental health and addictions services and so this is part of our plan for the future and its important that we come up here and meet with leaders and communities that have been affected by all of the changes that have happened in health care and that's the reason why we're here. We're excited to be here," said Dr. Adam Kassam, the OMA president.
Meanwhile, the association is launching northern health care recommendations called Prescription for Northern Ontario in Sudbury on Monday.
The plan is to address health care challenges and service gaps in the region and contains a dozen recommendations to address the unique needs in the north including the chronic doctor shortage, lack of high-speed internet and reliable connectivity, as well as unsafe drinking water and inadequate health care facilities and resources in Indigenous communities.
It is part of a bigger master plan for the province called Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' 5-Point Plan for Better Health Care which includes 75 province-wide recommendations to be implemented over the next four years.
"The OMA recognizes that the northern disparities in health care have existed for many years but the COVID-19 pandemic has made these gaps more visible and the need for solutions more urgent," Kassam said at a news conference Monday at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.