There is a doctor shortage locally and Prince Edward County is no exception.
Council heard on Wednesday night from Prince Edward Family Health Team (PEFHT) Executive Director Debbie Korzeniowski during their regular council meeting, there is an immediate need for five new family doctors and in the next five years there is a need to recruit ten new physicians to maintain the status quo of 23 doctors within the PEFHT.
She says there are five doctors who are currently ready to retire but are holding their practice until a replacement physician can be found.
The waitlist in Prince Edward County is approximately 600 people, with the average wait time for a physician between two and a half to three years.
Korzeniowski told council this is not just a local issue but a provincial issue.
She says they have had some success in the last few years recruiting six new doctors to the municipality, but those recruitments have been based on situations where the doctors had family in Prince Edward County or a spouse in the hospitality industry.
There is a Physician Recruitment and Retention Working Group working with the municipality to recruit new doctors to Prince Edward County that has been in place for a few years now.
Councillor Stewart Bailey asked how they get more physician spots, especially if they are expecting a population increase based on housing growth.
Korzeniowski said Prince Edward County has not been identified as a hard to recruit spot to the Ministry of Health, but PEFHT is hoping to start discussions about the oncoming growth combined with the aging demographic causing a perfect storm to be brewing in the municipality.
Councillor Bill McMahon wanted to know how important the financial incentive was when it came to doctors deciding where they will set up a practice.
Korzeniowski replied she didn’t believe it was the deciding factor but felt Prince Edward County needs to be competitive, especially when compared to neighbouring communities like Belleville, Quinte West and Greater Napanee. She said increasing their financial incentives may help PEFHT fill the physician vacancies more immediately.
Mayor Steve Ferguson said increasing financial incentives may need to be considered and subject to review at budget time.
