I got a letter in the mail from our family doctor. It was one of the saddest letters I ever got. She was leaving us. She was retiring after 36 years of practice. It felt like we were losing grandma.
But she felt terrible that she couldn’t find us a replacement doctor. So, we became orphaned patients.
Our family doctor was conscientious and careful. The first thing she said was to look locally for someone near us. So, I did. I called eight family doctors in our area. Most of them had an answer service. Their phone messages say they won’t get back to you until one or two business days because of the high volume of calls.
The offices that did answer the phone didn’t say they weren’t taking new patients. They told me to try again in January. Another said in six months. And another put me on a waitlist and said maybe sometime next year.
Our local doctors don’t want to say no. They don’t want to say that they’re full and that they’re not accepting new patients.
There’s a lot of people without a doctor. So, I’m sure I’m not the only one calling local doctor’s offices. They’re dealing with the pressure by creating wait lists and asking us to call back next year.
Everyone’s heard about the doctor shortage in the province. In Toronto, more than half a million people don’t have a family doctor. That number is expected to go up to one million in a couple of years.
But why so few family doctors after so many years of a doctor’s shortage? It’s a mystery that even stumped our own family doctor who said she “failed” to find us a replacement.
Family doctors are saying the provincial government needs to do more to help them serve their patients. And we also need more family doctors to keep up with our growing population.
Universities can graduate more doctors. Medical authorities can recognize internationally trained doctors, and the province can invest more in neighbourhood family clinics.
There’s no need for more orphaned patients.
