Gravenhurst council has approved a motion urging the province to acknowledge Ontario’s physician shortage and to fund healthcare adequately.
During its July 16 council meeting, Coun. Christina Hunter discussed a report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Medical Association.
The report included a campaign being promoted by the associations, which is urging municipalities to pass motions requesting the province to recognize the doctor shortage in local communities.
It suggests a “robust workforce” developed through a provincial, sector-wide health human resources strategy would significantly improve access to health services across the province.
“We know our population is growing. We know that we need doctors. We know it’s difficult to recruit and retain them,” said Hunter. “We want health care to be prioritized.”
According to the report, 2.3 million Ontarians do not have access to a family doctor, and more than half of the physicians working in northern Ontario are expected to retire in the next five years.
Scott Lucas, chief administrative officer for the Town of Gravenhurst, said there is some confusion about how big of a deal the doctor shortage is, adding the motion is “quite important.”
“I think this really articulates well what Gravenhurst and other communities feel about how significant this issue is across the province, and we will continue to do what we can locally to bring doctors to Gravenhurst and Muskoka,” continued Lucas.
