Niagara Region’s new online tool is meant to help residents find a family doctor close to home — but in Niagara-on-the-Lake, there aren’t any listings.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said the town is “fairly well served,” but one resident is not so sure.
The region has launched “Find a Doctor,” a webpage that aims “to help Niagara residents connect with local physicians currently accepting new patients,” said Jill Croteau, manager of the region’s physician recruitment program, in an email to The Lake Report.
The region said there are more than two dozen family doctors available in Niagara, but zero in NOTL, despite the town promoting it in a July 29 news release.
As of July, the town has 13 family physicians and 11,957 residents are enrolled with one, said the town’s communications co-ordinator, Marah Minor.
Zalepa said the town promoted the new tool to help residents connect with doctors in nearby communities, adding it’s not unusual for Niagara residents to seek care outside their municipality — he himself once had a doctor in St. Catharines.
“I think that it’s being looked at the wrong way,” he said. “I don’t think doctor availability is exclusive to borders.”
Doctors ‘one of the most valuable’ parts of a community, says longtime resident
For longtime resident Ron Simkus, the tool highlights a deeper issue: NOTL simply doesn’t have enough doctors.
“(A doctor) is almost like one of the most valuable aspects you have that anchors you to this community,” he said.
“For seniors, in particular, that’s a really big deal.”
When Simkus moved to town in 2010, he sat on a local waiting list for a doctor for two years before securing the one he has today at the Village Medical Centre.
Today, there’s not even a waiting list due to demand, he said.
As a director with the NOTL Residents Association, he said the group plans to organize its 70 volunteers into teams focused on specialized issues, with health care and wellness being one group that’s already forming.
Croteau said that although there are no listings in NOTL, residents can apply to any doctor listed in the region, regardless of location.
“Physician listings are submitted voluntarily by local practices and are updated regularly in collaboration with our healthcare partners,” she said.
“We continue to work closely with clinics across the region.”
Region works to recruit more doctors for NOTL, Niagara
Niagara has played a key role in bringing doctors to NOTL and replacing former ones, she said, through its long-standing, active partnership with the Niagara North Family Health Team.
“The region has supported the successful placement and transition of most of the physicians currently practicing at the two sites in Niagara-on-the-Lake,” she said.
The region is also working to recruit a new doctor to join the Virgil healthcare team at 1882 Niagara Stone Rd. and will announce when a doctor has been found.
Zalapa also said recruitment efforts are ongoing in the region and in NOTL.
Just over a month ago, Zalepa said, he met with more than 30 resident doctors (doctors in training) in Niagara through an event hosted in town in partnership with Niagara Region’s recruitment team.
“I brought a message that says, ‘Hey, Niagara Region is really excited to have you here and we’re hoping that when you’re done your residency, you choose Niagara as your home — and maybe Niagara-on-the-Lake.’”
Zalepa also pointed to an example of a young couple, both doctors, with two children who had just relocated to NOTL.
He said he met them by chance while attending the Virgil Stampede this spring and sees their move as a hopeful sign for residents.
Tourism seems to take priority over basic services: Simkus
Simkus said attention paid to better access to health care stands in stark contrast to what’s given to tourism.
Provincial ministers routinely announce new initiatives to draw more visitors, he said — but there’s silence when it comes to improving basic services for residents.
“You don’t see any big announcements from the Ministry of Health saying, ‘Well, we’re going to upgrade access to medical facilities in Niagara-on-the-Lake,’” said Simkus.
He acknowledged that the tool is, in fact, helpful — he said if he didn’t already have a doctor, he would use it too.
Luckily, Simkus said, he has a young doctor, as there’s no clear pathway for patients when their physician retires: “You lose your doctor, you start from square one again.”
“You’d think, even, (the town) would say something — the minimum — you know, if vacancies appear, NOTL will notify people, right?” he said.
Rising commercial development, a surge in short-term rentals and the erosion of essential services has left Simkus fearing he lives in a town no longer being built for the people living there — “a facade of an old heritage town,” he said.
“If you look around, everything is starting to increase in commercial activity here — very little in the way of institutional support.”
Minor said “supporting physician recruitment” is a “priority” in the town’s official plan.
“The town values the health and well-being of the community and sees itself as a supportive partner in improving access to primary care,” she said, adding it’s committed to “helping foster solutions that benefit residents.”
The “Find a Doctor” tool can be found at niagararegion.ca/health/find-a-doctor.aspx.
