Toronto (Feb 1) – A physicians’ advocacy group is calling the province’s $110 million in funding for health teams, “a feeble attempt to address the crisis in family medicine gripping Ontario”.
“It is hard not to be disappointed by this announcement given its sheer inadequacy,” says Dr. David Barber, Chair of the Section on General and Family Practice (SGFP) of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). “Family doctors have been shouting from the rooftops for months that we need real change in the system in order to make sure it doesn’t collapse. This funding is just another small band-aid solution that doesn’t do anything to get to the root of the problem.”
While any increase in funding that will help Ontarians get access to the care they need is welcome, this announcement is notable mostly for its inadequacy given the scale of the problem Ontario is facing in family medicine. 2.3 million Ontarians were without a family doctor at last count (a number that is undoubtedly higher now), and a majority of family doctors report that they are considering leaving the profession due to the unmanageable nature of running a practice in the current landscape. If adding $110 million for Health Teams is the Government’s idea of a solution, they clearly don’t understand the problem, the SGFP wrote in a statement to CanIndia News .
Barber says family doctors need to be at the centre of health teams and must be invited to partner with government in developing solutions.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced today that the province is investing $110 million to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care teams. A funding of $90 million will add over 400 new primary care providers as part of 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams as a next step to close the gap for the 1.3 million people not connected to primary care.
However the SGFP says that today’s announcement does not provide any confidence that government understands the direness of the situation. The first step in addressing a crisis is to admit that it exists. This will not be done by taking small actions in the margins.
“As Ontario continues to grow, we need to take bold action to ensure the ongoing sustainability of family medicine, or it will simply become less and less available,” the physicians’ group stated.
The OMA Section on General & Family Practice (SGFP) represents the more than 15,000 general and family practice physicians of Ontario in negotiations and advocacy.
