With the municipal election on the horizon, a pair in the local healthcare community want to make sure the local doctor shortage is on candidates' radars.
Dr. Lesley Griffiths and Michelle Stevens, who is the Centre de santé communautaire de Timmins executive director, are part of a local physician recruitment task force working to recruit and retain primary care doctors in Timmins.
Based on data from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), Stevens says Timmins needs 17 primary care doctors. In the past five years, they say 10 family doctors have left and only three new doctors have started a practice.
“I’m a family doctor, that’s what I do and that’s what I love to do. I’m not political, I don’t like this kind of stuff but I think it’s at the point now where, this is our neighbour, this is (someone’s) grandma who has to sit in emerg for 10 hours to get a prescription for her diabetes meds. That is wrong, but it’s what we’re doing and it’s everybody’s problem,” said Griffiths.
From candidates, the task force wants them to commit their support to doctor recruitment efforts.
Specifically, the group is looking for more financial support from the municipality for recruitment incentives.
Griffiths said they've talked to city representatives, who asked them to go back with a specific ask about what they want from the municipality. She noted the city's also been "very good in terms of supporting specialists" and funding the medical specialist building next to the hospital.
The City of Timmins defended its efforts in a news release.
Since the early 2000s, it's provided $145,000 annually for the specialist facility. That commitment is until 2028.
"In fact, the City has been providing funding for physician recruitment since the early 1990s," reads the statement.
"City officials met with members of the physician recruitment task force in late 2021 to discuss physician recruitment. The task force was asked to develop a recruitment strategy and, to date, no clear strategy has been received.
"In the meantime, the City continues to work with the Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) in supporting the expansion of the hospital’s physician recruitment program."
Across the province, communities looking to attract doctors offer incentive packages.
“It’s all these little things, but we need to make it a priority … We’re already in a crisis. We’re already seeing extended wait times in our hospital, people coming in for (something) that could completely be managed by primary care. We want to do the best thing for the community," said Griffiths.
The welcoming package can include financial incentives, interest-free loans, or help with relocation expenses, she said. It could also include gym memberships, gift certificates to the grocery store, or passes for downhill or cross-country skiing.
“We have to realize that new physicians coming in are not coming in with their pockets full, they’re coming in with student debt. We want to give them a little bit of a boost to get started and a welcoming package,” explained Stevens.
The task force says it will also be approaching the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, mines and more to develop a recruitment package.
It's more than just financial incentives, though.
Stevens said there's also an integration piece to make sure people rally together and make new families in town feel welcome.
It was about 20 years ago that Griffiths moved to Timmins. After having a great experience with the doctors she was learning from, she stayed in the community.
“That’s what we’re trying to instill in our students — this is a really great community. And it really is medical wise, we have some of the best people probably in the world that are working here, but it’s getting people interested in coming to Timmins,” she said.
In the past two to five years, she said there's really been a shift in local family doctors.
“We’re seeing it more now because we do have a lot of physicians retiring or leaving to do other things, which are equally as important whether that be a different scope of practice, working in a jail, working in addiction, doing administration. But we’re certainly seeing those unattached patients presenting more and more to the hospital or not seeking care at all and then coming when things are really bad. We’re trying to alleviate some of those pressures on the hospital, and also it’s good patient care to have continuity of care,” said Griffiths.
Stevens has already been working to recruit doctors through her role at the French health centre operating out of the Timmins Square.
Since being hired two years ago, she's been actively working to recruit a part-time doctor for the centre.
“It’s been very difficult. I started to ask around and I started to inquire about innovative ways to be able to share the position and we were even looking at … we had explored different ways of offering physician services through Zoom or (Microsoft) Teams or TeleHealth and that was also very difficult. It was very apparent that it was not just a Centre de santé issue,” she said.
Meeting with other primary care providers, Stevens said her challenges were being echoed across the board.
The most challenging part, she said, is creating awareness. She also noted that there is a labour shortage and everyone is having a hard time recruiting.
"Even those that are successful in recruiting, families that are coming up with the person recruited or the new employee won’t have access to a family physician. That message is important,” she said.
“Mines recruiting workers need to hop on board and be aware that this would be a huge recruitment tool for them to at least be able to reassure their workers, ‘Hey, you can have a doctor. The community is working on recruitment strategies.’ That’s why I think all partners need to collaborate in this recruitment strategy."
Stevens acknowledged the city's contributions so far as well.
"We just need to be able to help out with primary care and get some physicians back on track here in Timmins or at least here to stay. And we need to get them to fall in love with Timmins,” she said.
