Physician shortage in northern Ontario a dire situation, says doctor
CBC
Family physician Dr. Laurel Laakso says her patients in the northern Ontario town of Sioux Lookout, have to wait four to five months to see her.
"And my patients have a family doctor," she said. "Those wait times are quite a bit worse for those who do not."
Laakso was part of a briefing organized by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) on Wednesday to bring greater attention to a doctor shortage in the province that has affected northern and remote communities the most.
"When you look to our northern communities, that picture becomes even more dire," Laakso continued.
"As many communities go months and months without a single physician visit in community."
WATCH | Dr. Laurel Laakso describes the situation in the north
Laakso said one reason for the lack of primary care in northern communities is because the small number of primary health care providers in those areas are also the same doctors who staff the emergency departments in rural hospitals.
In addition to her family practice, Laakso is chief of staff at the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre, which serves people from 31 First Nations who must fly in for health care.
"We're in a position where we're forced to take physicians out of primary care in order to keep these essential hospital services running," Laakso said.
The OMA says 2.3 million Ontarians don't have a family doctor, and it calls the situation "especially challenging" in northern and rural Ontario.
The organization is calling on the provincial government to develop a physician workforce strategy to ease the doctor shortage.
It recommends the province create a pool of locums – doctors who travel to northern and rural areas to provide relief – similar to the system in place for substitute teachers.
The OMA also says the province should also create more support networks, or hubs to help physicians working in remote areas.
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