As part of its pre-campaign funding announcements, the Ford government committed nearly $2 billion to attack the physician shortage in Ontario.
The Ontario government is investing $1.8 billion to connect two million more people to a family doctor or primary care team within four years, provincial officials said.
The investment includes $1.4 billion in new funding, alongside more than $400 million in already-approved funding for primary care.
Dr. Zeke Milkovic, CKHA acting chief of staff, said the announcement is good news, especially for a community such as Chatham-Kent, where so many residents lack a family doctor.
“CKHA appreciates the provincial government’s significant investment in primary care. This is a critical step toward addressing the needs of the 32,500 residents in Chatham-Kent without a family physician or nurse practitioner,” he said. “Strong primary care is vital for delivering comprehensive health services and easing pressure on hospitals by reducing emergency department visits and preventable hospitalizations.”
Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team, led by Dr. Jane Philpott, will use the government’s historic investment to implement its action plan to build a primary-care system that draws on best-in-class models from across the province and connects everyone to a family doctor or primary care team, provincial officials said.
The plan will implement a broad series of initiatives in collaboration with primary care leaders and health system partners that will close the gap for the remaining 10 per cent of people in the province in need of primary care by 2029, officials claim.
