Orillia doctor shortage reaching dire levels
The City of Orillia is investing in attracting health care providers as looming retirements could mean thousands are left without a family doctor.
"There's some impending retirements that are on the horizon that could make the situation pretty dire." Dr. Matt Miller heads up Orillia's Physician Retention and Recruitment Committee tasked with battling the city's ever-growing waitlist of residents without a family physician.
"With the amount of retirements we have identified over the next two years, it could be closer to 12,000 residents that could be unattached from a family physician, which means lower access to primary care, could mean longer wait times in emerge," Miller said.
The City is nearly doubling its funding to the committee, with an additional $16,000 to help it draw family doctors to the area, but Dr. Joel Runk said the problem is province-wide, with a limited number of physicians to go around.
"And everybody's competing for the same pool of talent," the Orillia doctor noted.
Runk has been practicing in the Sunshine City for eight years. He said the past two years had been difficult on all front-line workers, including doctors and their staff.
"Burnout is definitely something that is talked about a lot right now and definitely something that we're all feeling whether it be in the office, or in the hospital or other community care settings," he added.
The committee is focusing on the medical trainee program to keep local doctors from heading elsewhere.
"For us, it's about showcasing the community and why people that practice here enjoy practicing where they live," Miller said.
Twelve new family physicians are needed in Orillia, or it's estimated roughly one in three residents could be without a doctor within the next 18 months.
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