WELLINGTON ‒ A local health organization wants Guelph-Wellington to prioritize physician recruitment in 2024.
The Guelph Wellington Ontario Health Team (GW OHT) is requesting sustainable funding in the form of an annual $130,000 investment – split equally between Guelph, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and Wellington County – to initiate a new physician recruitment program.
According to county CAO Scott Wilson in a new report presented to the Administration, Finance and Human Resources Committee this week, county staff have provisionally placed $50,000 in the upcoming 2024 budget to support the request.
"Our healthcare system does not have the capacity to meet the needs of the planned influx of new residents," said the GW OHT, in a report accompanying its request for support. "Physician recruitment needs to be an essential part of the housing plan."
While the county has not been a part of a coordinated effort in physician recruitment since 2004, the report said there are locally initiated programs in Guelph, Minto and Mapleton, Mount Forest and Centre Wellington.
There are currently 166 family physicians providing care in Guelph-Wellington.
"Because of the highly organized primary care across Guelph Wellington, primary care team-focused recruitment efforts (in some cases, in partnership with township municipalities) have been very successful to date," said the report. "Despite these efforts, in the context of increased competition, there is an identified benefit for a more coordinated strategy to attract physicians."
In 2023, six new family doctors came to Guelph; of those, four replaced retired physicians.
While the provincial average for family physician's patient rosters is 1,200-1,250, in Guelph Wellington, that average increases to 1,298 and to 1,457 in Mount Forest.
Seven per cent of all rostered patients are with family physicians older than 64 years old.
"Due to retirements and movement out of the community, there are a number of vacant physician positions in the communities we serve leaving a significant number of residents without primary care," said the report. "This places a significant burden on the existing physicians to continue to support all aspects of care (and) will be further exacerbated in 2024 by additional retirement."
With 18,000 units anticipated in Guelph over the next nine years, the report suggests 35 additional primary care physicians are needed to support the primary care needs of the new residents anticipated, in addition to the usual attrition replacement rates.
In Wellington County, it's anticipated that 25 additional primary care physicians are needed.
"Many patients are turning to emergency rooms for primary healthcare and are contributing to hospital overcrowding," said the report. "When the system is stressed or caregivers are rushed, decision-making is altered, rates of error increase, and important processes of care are impeded."
The report will return to county council for approval later this month.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
