Province provides $1.1M to add capacity, ease family doctor crisis in the Sault

Describing it as a “tremendous” first step, Sault MPP Ross Romano announced $1.1 million in provincial money Friday to provide care for 4,450 orphaned patients in the area.

The move comes a week after Group Health Centre announced it was trimming its Sault-area patient roster by 10,000 people because of a severe shortage of physicians.

Romano said the money will allow the Sault Health Community Centre and Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services to add 2,275 new patients each.

“This has been a challenging time,” Romano told reporters Friday in a news conference held on Zoom.

“This is the beginning, not the end (but) it’s a tremendous first start.”

When asked about longer-term solutions such as increasing enrolment at the Northern School of Medicine, Romano said all options are on the table.

The announcement came a day after Health Minister Sylvia Jones announced a $110 million fund to link residents with primary health care providers.

There are currently 1.3 million people in Ontario without a primary care provider, which includes nurse-practitioner led clinics, the province said.

Earlier this week, the Ontario Medical Association asked the province to address the family doctor shortage immediately. There are 2,500 physician jobs currently open across the province, the association said.

About 40 per cent of Ontario's doctors are considering retirement in the next five years, an OMA survey of its members found.

In an open letter to Premier Doug Ford on Friday, United Steelworkers locals in the Sault called on the province to target international health care professionals to quickly ease the crisis.

o    Download our app to get local alerts on your device

o    Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

“Our need is immediate,” the letter said.

“It cannot be that no care is better than health care professionals that are not Canadian certified at the onset.”

Romano said the province is open to that and other ideas, all of which will be discussed by a local committee struck to find ways to address the crisis.