Massive new survey finds widespread frustration with access to primary health care

A Toronto-based research team met with and surveyed some 10,000 Canadians about the state of the health-care system — and what they found is deep dissatisfaction and frustration with primary care as the country grapples with a severe shortage of family doctors.

The OurCare Initiative — led by Dr. Tara Kiran, a family doctor and scientist with the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital — conducted a national survey, assembled five "provincial priorities panels" and convened a series of community roundtables over the past 16 months. It just released a 72-page report describing its findings.

It's one of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on Canadians' views of the health system and it provides crucial data on the poor state of primary care access in a growing and aging country.

While Canadians are generally proud of a health system that delivers care based on need rather than the ability to pay, the OurCare researchers found many people believe the system has failed on its promise to deliver universal and high-quality health care in a timely manner.

"Despite the diversity of the voices that we heard from, it was clear there is so much people in Canada agreed on. They want everyone to have access to primary care," Kiran told CBC News.

"Primary care is falling short. Far too many people don't have access to what is the front door to the health-care system. We're a country of have and have-nots.

"So many people have absolutely nothing — no access — and I think that's shameful, actually."

The report found evidence of what it calls an "attachment crisis" — an estimated 22 per cent of Canadian adults (about 6.5 million people) do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they can see regularly.

The problem appears to be getting worse. In a 2019 Statistics Canada survey, 14.5 per cent of Canadians aged 12 and over reported not having regular access to primary care.

The OurCare survey found access is particularly limited in Quebec, where 30.8 per cent of people report they don't have a primary care provider.

In Atlantic Canada, meanwhile, 30.9 per cent of people surveyed said they have no family doctor or nurse practitioner.

The data also reveals a significant age disparity, with fewer young adults reporting regular access to a doctor.

About 35 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 29 are without a primary care provider, according to OurCare.

Canada lags well behind other wealthy countries on access to primary care. In the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland, more than 95 per cent of the population has a primary care clinician or place of care, according to data published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.