If all goes well, the current wait list of 2000 people seeking a family doctor in the County will be almost gone by the end of the year. 

Committee of the Whole voted last week to increase funding for the County program, which covers the administrative and clinical costs to doctors of rostering new patients.

Another $75,000 for the County Docs Health Care Connect Premium fund will accelerate the work underway. An additional 750 people on the HCC wait list could be rostered by the three participating family doctors.  

Funds will be doled out in $25,000 allotments; each covers 250 patients. The funds are being added to the $100,000 already granted the program in this year’s budget.

If all goes well, 1,750 people will have a family doctor by the end of the year. That means almost 90 per cent of the existing wait list will be no more.

Physician recruiter Adam Hambly praised the pilot program to Council. He said he is unaware of any similar program operating in eastern Ontario.

“We didn’t really know how popular the program would be  — we’ve had 100 per cent engagement on the original amount and there’s definite interest in expanding among doctors,” said Mr. Hambly. “We expect one to three of the premiums to be accessed this year.”

Mr. Hambly also noted that the number of local residents without a family doctor is estimated to be 5,000. There will likely be a spike in numbers of people on the wait list in the coming months as unregistered residents realize they might actually be assigned a doctor.

New Docs on the Block

Mr. Hambly is also hard at work recruiting new doctors. 23 full-time family doctors are allotted to the County. While four new doctors have arrived this year, four more have announced plans to retire. 

That means, despite the new doctors, there are still seven vacancies. 

Some creative thinking by the Family Health Care Team is filling some care gaps. Mr. Hambly pointed to cancer screening clinics as well as newborn and hospital discharge programs.

The PEFHT Community Clinic for unattached patients has provided primary care for 136 local residents since launching in late February. The clinic runs in Picton on Tuesdays and in Wellington on Thursdays. It offers primary care for those without a family doctor.

“This is definitely another good news story,” said Mr. Hambly, smiling.