Ontario’s healthcare crisis is escalating, with a significant increase in the number of residents lacking a family doctor and hundreds of thousands having to travel long distances for care.
A study conducted by Upstream Lab at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital reveals that approximately 670,000 Ontarians live at least 51 kilometers away from their family doctor. Among them, over 130,000 reside more than 200 kilometers away, akin to the distance between Toronto and locations like Parry Sound, Belleville, or London.
“The distance is too great, and it’s affecting how Ontarians access care because they are not able to see their family doctor—or any family doctor—as frequently as patients who live closer,” stated Dr. Archna Gupta, a Toronto-based family physician and the lead researcher of the study, in a press release from the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) on July 11.
“Our data indicates that without a nearby family doctor, patients may end up relying more on hospital emergency departments and missing out on cancer screenings,” Dr. Gupta added.
The OCFP expressed concerns about the rapid rise in the number of Ontarians without a family doctor, now totaling 2.5 million compared to 1.8 million in 2020. The association highlighted that over 160,000 individuals joined the ranks of those without a doctor in just a six-month period.
“Every Ontarian deserves a family doctor, and patients should have access to one in their community,” stated OCFP president Dr. Mekalai Kumanan. “System-wide challenges are pushing family doctors beyond their limits. It is crucial to address the urgent issues faced by family doctors today.”
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The OCFP has urged the government to provide immediate assistance to enable family doctors to deliver essential care to Ontarians, emphasizing that having a regular family physician reduces mortality rates, lowers hospital admissions, and decreases healthcare expenses.
While some progress has been made by the Ontario government, including investments in support teams for family doctors and a commitment to reducing unnecessary paperwork, more action is required to enhance patient-doctor interaction, stated OCFP CEO Deepy Sur. “Ontario must implement changes promptly so that both family doctors and patients can experience the benefits without delay.”
One proposed solution to the crisis is to significantly reduce the paperwork burden on doctors, which currently consumes up to 19 hours per week. Many physicians are leaving the profession due to inadequate compensation that has not kept pace with inflation and the increasingly complex needs of patients.
Canada’s healthcare system has been plagued by labor shortages. In 2022, there were only 96,000 physicians in the country, as reported by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, equating to approximately 247 medical doctors per 100,000 population.
A national survey in 2022 by St. Michael’s researchers found that around 6.5 million individuals, roughly one in five Canadians, lack access to primary care.
On July 11, the federal government announced $47 million to support and retain healthcare workforce members. A significant portion of the funding will be allocated to enhancing healthcare workforce data collection and accessibility across Canada, with $22.5 million designated for Health Workforce Canada and $13 million for the Medical Council of Canada to expand a national physician database.
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