Growing concern over doctor, nurse shortage in Simcoe County
As Canadians in several provinces struggle to access a family physician, experts in Ontario say numbers are now surpassing the one million mark.
"It is completely unacceptable that in Ontario, 1.5 million people do not have access to a family doctor," said Dr. Rose, Zakarias President of the Ontario Medical Association.
The latest numbers indicate that wait times at walk-in clinics in Ontario are getting longer as many patients look for quick care.
"Without a family doctor, people are navigating the health care system on their own, and that means people are also not getting access to specialists and necessary care such as pediatricians or other specialists that deal with certain ailments," said Zakarias.
Yang Tang has lived in Barrie for two years and has been unable to access a family physician within the region. He uses walk-in clinics until he can find a local family doctor.
"I don't know who I should be asking to help, I feel lost, and I don't know who should I ask for, and I definitely don't want to go to an emergency room," said Tang.
While residents look for access to a family physician, concerns are also mounting, scrounging a shortage of nurses.
"With a growing population and an aging population, we know that we will be in need of over 4,000 nurses here in our region, said Sarah Lankshear, Associate Dean of Nursing at Georgian College.
During many Ontarian's wait for care, Georgian College says its new year four-year degree nursing program is hoping to help fill the gaps, with the program seeing record levels of enrolment applications to keep health care workers in the region well past graduation.
"Our students will have in-depth knowledge of the communities that they serve to meet the needs of those here in the region," said Lankshear.
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