Ontario doesn’t have enough doctors – The Star
May 22, 2018
I’m often asked if attracting new doctors to Ontario is the key to putting an end to wait times and hallway medicine. I reply, “It’s complicated” — and it is — which proves once again that our health care system is not only inefficient, it’s downright inexplicable.
Consider this: in Ontario, some patients will wait months for a surgical consultation and years for the surgery itself. So imagine their shock when I tell them that not only are there empty operating rooms, but there are surgeons who cannot find work in this province because of government cuts.
This is where the anger kicks in. Doctors can’t work. Patients can’t receive care. Previous investments sit wasted. Wash, rinse, and repeat. This is what happens when government underfunds our health system.
How can anyone tell how many more physicians we must recruit, when we don’t even use the ones we have? Compared to other countries, Ontario is below average when it comes to the number of working doctors. In fact, there are towns in Northern Ontario where they only have half the doctors they really need, and Indigenous communities are completely understaffed.
