Belleville considers Physician Retention Initiatives

NOTE: municipalities have no control over how physicians are treated in Ontario. Health care and the models of practice, compensation programs, licensing, incentives, regulations and other issues are solely the responsibility of the province and local municipalities have almost no input on the policies or processes that are approved.

The OMA estimates that 2.5 million Ontarians don’t have a family doctor – this number is estimated to be 4.4 million in less than 2 years. The situation is dire and as a community we need to do everything we can to attract and retain family physicians.

Ontario government is NOT providing the support, services and compensation needed by the family physicians

Earlier this year, a group of local family doctors appeared before Council to discuss the state of health care from the perspective of a family physician in Ontario. The information they provided painted the picture of a health care system in crisis, especially locally where thousands of residents are without primary health care and where physicians are facing a dangerous level of demand for their services with a compensation model for family doctors that is unsustainable.

It is clear from their presentation that the Ontario government is NOT providing the support, services and compensation needed by the family physicians to attract and retain these vital health care providers in the province. Many family doctors are closing their practices, moving elsewhere or choosing to work in hospitals, clinics, locum positions or other jobs where the practice of medicine is less cumbersome and the pay better reflects the hours required to do the job.

The issues raised by our local doctors go far beyond their level of compensation, although that is an easy one to quantify. They raised concerns around pension plans, benefit packages,
insurance costs, Electronic Medical Record (EMR) costs, etc.

Neighbouring communities offering physician retention incentives

Council may be aware that several local communities (including Quinte West and Prince
Edward County) are offering retention incentives of varying kinds that include annual payments for retaining patients, funds to expand their patient roster, free rent, free staffing, etc. but they typically only have a few physicians to deal with.

With at least 45 family physicians in Belleville, there is no way the City could provide office space and staffing and/or other benefits for all of these doctors. Regardless, the City is not facing a shortage of private clinic space and many landlords are offering significant discounts to physicians that are interested in locating in their space. Competing with the private sector in this manner is difficult to justify even if the substantial funding it would require were available.

Management recommends a lobbying initiative in support of our local family doctors and develop an application process for a new FPAF

Management recommends that Council direct staff to formalize a lobbying initiative in support of our local family doctors and develop an application process for a new FPAF that will provide some support to local physicians taking on new patients or investing in their own practices.