Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson have announced new funding for the Listowel-Wingham Family Health Team.
The announcement came Friday morning at the Fisher Family Health Clinic in Listowel.
Rae says $822,604 will allow the health team to bring in a mobilized health team to expand primary care and serve an additional 2,000 residents in Huron and Perth Counties. Rae says this is another step toward the province delivering better healthcare. He added a new $3.1 billion agreement between the provincial and federal governments, announced Friday in King City, will build on that.
"This announcement here today and in King City is definitely building on our past successes we've had, whether it's Practice Ready, which was mentioned this morning, around internationally trained nurses and physicians. In the first year of that program, it was estimated 50 physicians in Ontario would be able to come online and get accredited in Ontario and begin practicing," Rae stated. "I know we'll continue to build on that moving forward, and the federal and provincial money deal which is being signed today in King city will help achieve that, as well. I know we've expanded medical spots for physicians, but also nurse practitioners. So nurse practitioners are assuming a bigger role in primary care which is great, I 100 per cent support that. So, I know we expanded those spots. There's 121 extra nurse practitioner spots across Ontario now, too."
The funding announced for the Listowel-Wingham Family Health Team is part of a recently announced investment of $110 million to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care by Health Minister Sylvia Jones.
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson says the provincial government has been consistent in saying the feds need to do more to address healthcare needs in Ontario. She also touted the King City announcement when asked about addressing pressing needs in emergency departments in the area and across the province, that continue to shut down at times due to staffing shortages.
"I think the news coming out of King City today is going to be phenomenal. I want to tip my hat to Premier Ford and Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones. They have held strong, they've held the line. They've been consistent in saying the federal government needs to come into Ontario and do their share in making sure that primary care, and our ability to attract more people to family health teams, can be achieved," said Thompson. "So, based on what they're agreeing to today, will bode well for not only rural Ontario, but the entire province. So what does that translate into here at home? People can have confidence that they have a province and a government that's focused on bringing primary healthcare close to home."
The federal and provincial governments released details just after 11 a.m. on February 9 regarding a new healthcare agreement for $3.1 billion "to improve health care in Ontario."
"This investment will help increase access to family doctors, reduce wait times, hire more health care workers, and ensure faster care for Canadians, including mental health care," a media release from the provincial government said. "Under this agreement, Ontario will continue to deliver on its Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care and create new primary care teams to help more people connect to family doctors. With more family doctors, as well as nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers, health teams will ensure families can access timely, quality primary care. This will also help reduce backlogs for surgeries and wait times in emergency rooms while improving access to care for patients without a family doctor, especially in rural, remote, and underserved areas."
With regards to the announced funding in Perth and Huron, Robin Spence Haffner, the Executive Director of the Listowel-Wingham Family Health Team, said the mobile clinics that will be established will travel throughout the area.
"We haven't figured out the details yet, but there is a really strong group of eight family health teams and a community health centre in our area. So we all intend to mobilize whatever health human resources are available in our various areas," Spence Haffner shared. "We'll hold the funding here and coordinate things, but the clinics will run in all the communities and be staffed by nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, as well. Also, a mental health case manager system navigator, to really help people get connected. There'll be clinics for preventative care, things like cancer screenings, that sort of thing, along with chronic disease management, to help people stay healthier while they manage those diseases."
Spence Haffner added that there will likely be a rotating schedule and clinics that happen based on local demand.
"I think a bit of both. It'll be a rotating schedule so that all communities will have access to the program. It'll be a rotating schedule, it'll be based on the demands in the various counties but our intent is to evenly distribute the resources across the area, so that smaller rural communities do have access to the program close to home," said Spence Haffner.