It is welcome news that Premier Doug Ford has appointed Dr. Jane Philpott, former federal Liberal Health Minister to lead a new primary care action team in Ontario. This cross-partisan effort to solve the primary care crisis in the province is exactly the kind of ‘roll-up-the-sleeves’ approach we all need.
Will it be enough?
Every province and territory in Canada needs a dramatic reformation of the health system to help right our primary healthcare ship. If anyone can fulfil this challenging mandate, Dr Philpott can make it happen. For truly sustainable change, she must prioritize robust health workforce planning.
Primary care refers to routine, regular health care and is the first point of contact an individual has with the health system – usually through a family doctor or nurse practitioner – but better yet, with an integrated healthcare team.
Dr. Philpott’s mandate is to make sure everyone in Ontario is connected to primary care within five years. This is no easy task. A new report released by the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) details how 12 to 27 per cent of adults across Canada are not attached to a primary care provider.
As more family doctors retire, this situation is likely to get worse.