Hamilton needs 60 more family doctors, health team says
CBC
Hamilton needs 60 more family doctors to ensure everyone in the city has one, according to the Hamilton Family Health Team (HFHT).
"We are really concerned ... that's what keeps us up at night," Gloria Jordan, HFHT chief executive officer, told CBC Hamilton.
The city's shortage has worsened since last year, when Hamilton was short by roughly 50 doctors.
The shortage, HFHT says, disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.
There are a range of factors behind the shortage, which is playing out across Canada.
WATCH | What's behind the shortage of family doctors in Canada?
Dr. Brian McKenna, HFHT's lead physician, said one of the main reasons is a lack of interest from medical students — an even bigger problem when considering the city's population is expected to keep growing and patients are dealing with more chronic conditions than before.
Jordan also said primary care staff need better pay.
Brad van den Heuvel, a recruitment specialist with Hamilton Physicians at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre, said in an interview last year cities are competing for family doctors, not enough family medicine residents are getting training in Ontario and younger doctors may want a better work-life balance.
McKenna said the health-care system also needs to change.
"We have a very hospital-led, hospital-prioritizing health-care system and we know there needs to be equivalent emphasis ... toward building that for community care as well," he said.
"We need to move beyond just the family doctor's offices that's very much fending for themselves."
The Greater Hamilton Health Network, a network that includes HFHT, applied for a provincial grant earlier this year to expand the team-based model HFHT uses.
The way the model works is a patient meets with their family doctor and the family doctor will connect them to other levels of in-house health care as needed.