This morning, Ontario’s Ford government announced a historic $235 million investment in the program. This funding will improve access to primary health care services by expanding their availability across the province. This $100 million investment will help more Ontarians get connected to the right health care they need, closer to home this year. It addresses the urgent issue of an increasing lack of family physicians in their area.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones detailed that the investment includes $142 million allocated for operational funding over the next three years. The federal government is making additional investments as part of its overall Primary Care Action Plan. The Family Health Care Planning Initiative’s goal is to ensure that all Ontarians can receive care through a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team by 2026.
Back in April, the Ontario Medical Association shared a shocking statistic. Picture this—2.5 million other residents in the province do not have a family doctor at the moment. This figure is set to increase to more than 4.4 million by 2026 without action. The new funding will support 130 new primary care teams selected from a recently completed expression of interest process. This program specifically focuses on those communities that have the highest number of residents without access to primary health care.
Just these 46 chosen teams alone are projected to provide access to primary care for over 300,000 individuals this year. Patients will start seeing light through these facilities in the next weeks and months, which is an amazing thing to ponder. The chair of Ontario’s Primary Care Action team expressed optimism about the upcoming changes, stating that these teams will soon be ready to provide essential health services.
Dr. Jane Philpott, who spoke during Monday’s announcement, acknowledged the long wait many residents have experienced for improved access to health care.
“We know that many have waited a long time for this,” – Dr. Jane Philpott
She highlighted the value added by these teams in today’s evolving health care environment.
“These teams will be the front door to care, offering timely, comprehensive support led by a family doctor or a nurse practitioner,” – Dr. Jane Philpott
Eligible teams that were not funded in this round will receive feedback to help them strengthen future proposals. They can and do resubmit them, often finding success in the next call likely to be launched in September.
