Write to your provincial policymakers to take action. Consider using the OUFP template at www.oufp.ca/mpp.
Over the past several weeks there have been numerous stories in the press highlighting the crisis in family medicine in Ontario. Unfortunately, despite all of these, it appears the importance of this emergency is lost on Health Minister Sylvia Jones and Premier Doug Ford.
Not the stories about 2. 3 million Ontarians without a family doctor (expected to double in the next two years). Not the repeated stories about family physicians leaving comprehensive care due to burnout without finding a replacement. Not the stories of long line ups of people hoping to get a family physician.
Two weeks ago, three former leaders of the Ontario Medical Association advised young physician trainees not to open up a comprehensive care family practice in Ontario (alternative link for op-ed article). The significance of this cannot be overstated. This is the first time EVER in Canada that former leaders of a medical association have made a recommendation to younger physicians to avoid a certain field of medicine or practice set up.
And yet Jones and Ford continue to ignore the gravity of the situation. While Health Minister Jones touts the 2.8% increase to physicians gross billings, this does not come close to the 62% of missing funding that is required for a sustainable family medicine practice to operate. The government is funding family physicians at 38% of necessary funding to keep clinics open. They have not kept pace with inflation over decades. The Section of General and Family Practice likened this increase to shovelling in the midst of a blizzard.
Since our leaders are unwilling to appreciate the situation and to help family physicians by rapidly implementing meaningful changes to reduce administrative burden and to provide a business model based on 2024 economics of running a family practice, the OUFP declares a Red Alert for all family physicians in Ontario.
We feel it is no longer safe to practice comprehensive family medicine in Ontario. It is unsafe economically. More importantly it is unsafe for your health and well being. You will spend ever increasing amounts of time doing administrative work and less time seeing patients. You will develop symptoms of burnout, and they may very well overwhelm you and affect your family life.
We cannot stand by and let this happen. The Red Alert means that we regretfully join Dr. Alam, Dr. Gandhi, and Dr. Mathew in recommending no new physician start a comprehensive care family practice in Ontario. We further discourage new physicians from coming to Ontario to practice comprehensive family medicine. We encourage them to explore options in provinces like Manitoba or British Columbia that value family physicians.
We sincerely hope that one day we can reverse our recommendation and unequivocally recommend that new physicians set up a comprehensive family practice in Ontario. However, in its current trajectory, the family medicine crisis can only be expected to worsen, and it’s the government’s fault. We encourage all residents of Ontario to demand better from their government.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ramsey Hijazi, Dr. Vakar Khan, and Dr. Alex Duong
on behalf of The Ontario Union of Family Physicians
To contact and discuss this release with OUFP, please contact us at oufpmembers@gmail.com
Write to your provincial policymakers to take action. Consider using the OUFP template at www.oufp.ca/mpp
UPDATES 