“Code Grey” is one in a series of stories in The Lake Report about health care in Niagara Region. In hospital parlance, “Code Grey” means loss of essential service.
The latest numbers from Niagara Region find Niagara-on-the-Lake to have a good number of doctors compared to other municipalities, but given some unique challenges present with the town’s patient pool, this number might not be enough, says Coun. Sandra O’Connor.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, physician recruitment and retention specialist Jill Croteau gave an update on doctor recruitment in Niagara-on-the-Lake on behalf of Niagara Region Public Health.
Currently, there are 13 family doctors operating in the town, up from 11 after two new physicians, Dr. Anne Wilson and Dr. Michael Grasic, joined the Niagara Medical Centre in Virgil last fall.
According to the target ratio of one doctor for every 1,380 patients in the Niagara region, this means NOTL is only two doctors short.
“Niagara-on-the-Lake is in more of a healthy position right now,” Croteau said.
This ratio is based on significant changes to Niagara’s population in the last two years, with around 47,000 new people coming in, bringing the total to 525,000.
In total, physicians in the region currently enroll around 339,000 patients and using a one-to-1,380 ratio, the region has 274 family physicians, Croteau explained.
This puts the region at about 106 doctors short of its target of 380.
Other municipalities in the region have larger gaps to fill compared to NOTL, according to the region’s numbers: Niagara Falls requires 36 doctors, St. Catharines needs 16, Welland, 13, and Fort Erie, 10.
“We have made great strides in our recruitment, but with our current growth rate, we’re still struggling to keep up with our primary care,” Croteau said.
During responses to the presentation on Tuesday, O’Connor said NOTL’s aging population creates special circumstances when considering the number of doctors needed.
She expressed concern around Crouteau’s use of the term “healthy position.”
“By any measurement you want to take, Niagara-on-the-Lake has one of the highest percentages of seniors, not only in Niagara but probably in Ontario as well,” O’Connor said.
“When you have that many seniors, the number of complex health conditions increases and more time is needed to deal with each case,” she said.
“As a result, I don’t feel that average ratios are a good indication for the need of Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
This is a point O’Connor raised when Wilson and Grasic joined NOTL’s roster of family doctors, back when the target for the town was 14.
The region had a record year in 2024, Croteau said, welcoming in 26 new physicians.
“We’ve really made some strides, just in terms of bringing new doctors into the community,” she said.
There are also 20 doctors accepting new patients under Niagara Health’s “Find A Doctor Page.”
When it comes to welcoming in new doctors, Croteau said many are coming in from overseas, with 14 of the 26 physicians welcomed this year being from the U.K.
“Financial support and support in general is imperative for them,” she said, noting urban centre are now also offering incentives for new recruits — a symptom of the wider health-care crisis in Ontario — adding heat to the competition for smaller communities looking to recruit.
Coun. Gary Burroughs expressed interest in how this funding is formulated.
It depends on the municipality, Croteau said, but in most cases it does not become a public request.
Burroughs asked staff to let council know if there is anything they can do that they have yet to take action on.
Coun. Erwin Wiens noted that Ashleigh Meyers, the town’s economic development officer, was listening in and taking notes.
