Instead of downloading Ontario’s doctor shortage, Dalton McGuinty should build a NEW school of medicine!
(Queen’s Park – September 19, 2008) This fall the McGuinty Liberal government will attempt to evade another election promise. When the Legislative Assembly returns the McGuinty Liberal’s will push a government Bill through the Provincial Parliament which downloads the doctor shortage onto the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Five years ago Dalton McGuinty promised to recruit and train more doctors; five years ago the Premier promised that no person would go without the medical attention they needed. However, five years have passed and nearly one million Ontarians are still without a family doctor.
“Dalton McGuinty is trying to squirm out of his 2003 election promise,” charged Progressive Conservative Health Critic, Elizabeth Witmer. “Bill 97 is an admission of failure. It clearly shows that the McGuinty government wants to abdicate its responsibility because the job was too tough and they have no plan of action.”
SOLUTIONS:
Witmer specified that a plan of action to ensure all Ontarians have timely access to a family doctor must include:
Creating a new school of medicine and expanding medical school spaces;
o A PC government announced the last school of medicine in 2001 in northern Ontario.
Implementing a comprehensive long-term physician recruitment strategy;
Establishing an independent human-resource planning body for health care professionals;
“The time has come for a new school of medicine. This is a positive action the McGuinty Liberals can take right now,” stated Witmer. “I believe initiatives such as this will help to ensure there is an adequate supply of physicians in the province of Ontario.”
BACKGROUND:
Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario is moving in the wrong direction. Things could be better!
Since 2003, the number of communities designated as underserviced for family physicians has increased from 122 to 139.
Since 2005, the number of doctors who have fled Ontario has increased year after year.
Ontario stands to lose another 2,600 doctors very soon to retirement.
According to the Ontario Medical Association, 83 per cent of people believe Ontario’s doctor shortage negatively affects economic growth in their community.
A third of Ontario’s medical school graduates leave the province within two years of completing their training.
Ask yourself, is Dalton McGuinty doing everything possible to make Ontario a more attractive place to practice medicine?
For further information contact:
Elizabeth Witmer, MPP
(416) 325-1306
BACKGROUNDER
Bill 97 will not produce foreign trained doctors for Ontarians; it abdicates the government’s responsibility onto Ontario’s Regulatory Health Colleges.
The McGuinty government’s legislation makes absolutely no reference to international medical graduates (IMGs) or foreign trained doctors.
In June 2008, during the Standing Committee on Estimates, the Minister of Health acknowledged that Bill 97 does not mention foreign trained physicians. George Smitherman went on to suggest that the legislation was “a statement on behalf of the patients to bring added influence of the patients’ circumstances into the work of the regulatory bodies.”
Bill 97 amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 by adding a single sentence. The legislation reads: “It is the duty of the College to work in consultation with the Minister to ensure, as a matter of public interest, that the people of Ontario have access to adequate numbers of qualified, skilled and competent regulated health professionals.”
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