THUNDER BAY — The Ontario government is investing more than $5 million to connect over 16,000 people to primary care teams in Northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Kenora, Fort Frances, and Sioux Lookout. This is part of Ontario’s $110 million investment to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care teams, bringing the province one step closer to connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care.
“Our government is making record investments to ensure everyone who wants to have a primary care provider can connect to one,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “While there is more work to do, giving thousands of more Ontarians in the region the opportunity to connect to primary care brings us that much closer to this goal.”
Ontario currently leads the country with 90 per cent of people connected to a regular health care provider. As a next step to close the gap for those not connected to primary care in the region, the province is supporting six new or expanded interprofessional primary care teams in the Northwest to connect over 16,000 Ontarians with primary care teams and provide services including:
- Creating a new Indigenous primary care team site to help Indigenous communities in Fort Frances and area connect to holistic and culturally appropriate primary care that was previously not available.
- Expanding services in the Thunder Bay region which will provide cervical screening clinics, more pre and post natal care, immunization clinics, and also increase urgent care walk-in hours for the community.
- A new Nurse Practitioner- Led Clinic satellite team which will focus on mental health and addictions support and provide care for newborns as well as community paramedicine patients in the Thunder Bay area.
- Expanding an existing primary care team in Thunder Bay to help people in urban and rural areas connect to health and social services closer to home.
- A new Indigenous primary care team in Kenora to connect people in six First Nations reserves with primary care services.
- A new Indigenous primary care team to connect people in Sioux Lookout and the surrounding 33 First Nations Communities with holistic primary care.
Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals who work together under one roof, including doctors, nurse practitioners, registered and practical nurses, physiotherapists, social workers and dietitians, among others. Timely access to primary care helps people stay healthier longer with faster diagnosis and treatment, as well as more consistent support managing their day-to-day health while relieving pressures on emergency departments and walk-in clinics.
The record investment of $90 million will add over 400 new primary care providers and 78 new and expanded interprofessional primary care teams across the province. In addition to other historic investments to expand medical school spots and efforts to break down barriers so highly-skilled internationally-trained doctors can care for people in Ontario, Ministry of Health modelling shows these initiatives will help connect up to 98 per cent of people in Ontario to primary care in the next several years.
An additional $20 million will provide a boost to all existing interprofessional primary care teams to help them meet increased operational costs for their facilities and supplies so they can continue to provide high-quality care to the people they provide care to. Since the launch of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care one year ago, the government has been making steady progress to ensure the health care system has become better equipped to respond to the needs of patients and provide them with the right care in the right place, faster access to services and access to an expanded health care workforce.