Due to a doctor shortage over 10,000 patients in Sault St. Marie will no longer have access to family medicine by May.
The doctor shortage is an issue all over Ontario, including Toronto. What’s happening in Northern Ontario is an example of what can happen in the GTA. And to some extent, is already happening.
Dr. David Barber, family doctor and OMA General and Family Practices chair, says the loss in Sault St. Marie is “significant.” Dr. Barber says that there is no one to replace the doctors that are leaving as students are choosing other practices.
Dr. Ali Damji, a family doctor and academic doctor at the University of Toronto, works with students regularly and says that students are taking their family medicine skill set to other specialties for job security.
CJTM News talked to both doctors to explore the larger ramifications of the growing doctor shortage.
