The Prince Edward Family Health Care Team is proposing to expand its medical staff and to add more neighbourhood clinics to its existing network, bringing 35,000 unattached patients into regular care. 

The Ontario Ministry of Health asked for proposals to create new health care teams and expand access to connect 300,000 more people to primary care province-wide. 

The Ministry’s call targeted those regions with the highest rates of unattached patients. Hastings Prince Edward was one of them. 

“There are a couple of dimensions,” said Sheila Braidek, Executive Director of the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Care Centre and Co-Lead for the HPE OHT Stewardship Group. 

The first is to expand staff at existing family health team practices across Hastings and Prince Edward. Family health teams provide patients with access to more coverage, allowing them to see nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and dietitians, in addition to the team of physicians. 

The proposal would add neighbourhood clinics across the region for those without a primary care physician. 

“The expectation is that if people need more robust wrap-around health care, they will be transitioned from those neighbourhood clinics into one of the existing teams,” Ms. Braidek noted. 

“We want people to get the type of service they need, when they need it.”

The last component includes new digital tools for primary care physicians, including a single electronic health record region-wide. 

“We’re thinking about this as a whole system, not just individual practices.”

Mayor Steve Ferguson wrote a detailed letter of support, noting, “the proposal represents an opportunity to create a more streamlined, connected and effective healthcare experience for individuals in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.”

The Ministry should release their decision by this summer.