BRAVING COLD, DESPERATE CANADIANS LINE UP FOR FAMILY DOCTOR SLOTS IN ONTARIO

Canada's Ontario is facing a critical shortage of family doctors, with people braving freezing cold and snow to get one for their family. Ontario's Walkerton municipality saw hundreds of people lining up outside a Canadian Legion office for only 500 patient slots opened by the new physician in town. 

Over 2.5 million residents in Ontario are currently without a family doctor, and this figure is projected to rise to four million in the coming years, according to The Toronto Star.

The new practitioner in Walkerton was accepting patients on a first-come, first-served basis, and the 500 spots were filled within hours. Many of those in waiting in line had been without a family doctor for years.

Despite snowfall and bone-chilling cold, the lineup began forming as early as 2 am, with some waiting more than six hours before the doors opened at 10 am.

"This is how desperate people are in Canada to find a family doctor. A physician in Brockton, Ontario, starting his new practice said he would take 500 new patients. Hundreds lined up in the freezing cold in hopes of signing up. What a disaster," an X user wrote on X.

 

NEW DOCTOR IN, ANOTHER EXPECTED BY YEAR-END

Dr Mitchell Currie, a Walkerton native who returned to establish a family practice, announced the sign-up for 500 slots.

The South Bruce Grey Health Centre in Walkerton, which serves Chesley, Durham, Kincardine, and Walkerton, announced the sign-up event on social media last week, drawing a large crowd of people desperate for primary care.

The slots were quickly filled, while another 500 names were added to a waitlist for another incoming physician expected later this year.

"My kids haven't had a doctor since they were pulled out of the womb," Matthew Fountain, who arrived at the Legion and got a chance to enrol in the patient list told The Star.

"After being without a family doctor for eight years, now I get my name on the list of the family doctor," another Canadian citizen, Will Patterson, told The Star.

'HUNGER GAMES' ACROSS ONTARIO

According to the Ontario College of Family Physicians, the number of people without a family doctor has increased from 1.8 million in 2020 to 2.5 million now, according to CBC News.

Many rural communities, including Walkerton, are struggling to attract physicians, leading Dr Dominik Nowak, president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), to call the situation "shameful."

"It is shameful that people have to stand outside in winter just to get a chance at landing a doctor," Nowak told CBC News.

"We're seeing a 'Hunger Games' all across Ontario, with communities battling essentially for family doctors and other physicians," Nowak added. "This is not sustainable — it pits communities against one another. What we really need is a plan across the province to get people the care they need in Ontario."

The Ontario government has taken steps to address the doctor shortage, particularly in rural areas, including launching a plan to bring in more foreign-trained doctors, according to CBC News.

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2025-01-17T11:01:09Z