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Inquinte.ca  Published an article March 03, 2023

By Nicole Kleinsteuber

The Ontario government is investing in the hiring of more nurse practitioners to expand access to primary care within the Quinte Region.

MPP Todd Smith announced on Friday the Ministry of Health is providing the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic up to $209,800 in additional base funding for 2022-2023 and up to $839,200 in annualized funding starting in 2023-2024.  The investment will support the hiring of 2.6 additional nurse practitioner positions, 1.5 administration positions, a registered nurse and a social worker.  By increasing staffing levels at the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, Smith said they can ensure about 2,000 more people will see primary care practitioners.

“This is a great first step in trying to solve our primary care shortage in the Quinte Region,” he said following the announcement.  “Anytime you have the opportunity to attach 2,000 people in the Quinte Region to a primary care provider that’s great.  “There is still a lot of work to do but there are going to be more of these good news announcements coming in the near future.”

Karen Clayton-Babb, the Chief Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Director at the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic called the funding announcement “very exciting.”  

“We are thrilled because we have been working on this for the past five years so we are very delighted to have this new funding,” she said.  “Similar to other communities across Ontario thousands of residents are unattached to primary care and the number continues to grow; therefore, this new investment for the expansion of  the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, is a step in the right direction to transform the lives of residents who have been without primary care for many years.”

The current location in downtown Belleville has four nurse practitioners serving 2,700 patients throughout the Bay of Quinte and surrounding areas.  When the BNPLC submitted a proposal for funding to the province it was for a new satellite office, however, they are “having some challenges with that” and work continues on where the future location will be.

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Lanarkleedstoday Published an article March 03, 2023

The Carleton Place Regional Health Hub is going from a dream to reality when shovels hit the ground this fall.

14 existing family physicians across Beckwith and Carleton Place will operate under one roof providing residents access to programs offered by the Ottawa Valley Family Health Team (OVFHT).

OVFHT Executive Director Peter Hamer says the initial reaction from the local physicians were a mixed bag.

The 40,000 square feet of space on a 15,000 square feet footprint will be on Costello Drive, a prime location for this facility, Hamer says

He adds it took five years of work to get to this point, and they hope to have doors open by next September.

This was made possible through $1.2 million in annual provincial funding and $1.7 million over ten years between Carleton Place and Beckwith.

CTV video here

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Additional article from Inside Ottawa Valley

CBC Published an article March 02, 2023

More family doctors in Ontario could begin caring for their patients in teams — alongside nurses, social workers and other health professionals — as a result of the new federal-provincial funding deal. 

The deal between the governments of Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is at this stage just an agreement-in-principle, so the two sides still need to sort out precisely how the promised $8.4 billion will actually be spent. 

The first priority named in the funding agreement is providing Ontarians “access to high-quality family health services when they need them.” 

But Ontario is facing an acute shortage of family physicians that is only forecast to worsen. It’s currently estimated that more than two million Ontarians are without a family doctor, and projections suggest looming retirements of physicians will push that number even higher. 

With little prospect of rapidly and significantly boosting the number of family doctors in Ontario, how can the deal with the federal government increase access to primary care? Experts say the key is allowing more family doctors to work in teams of health professionals so they can take on more patients. 

Team-based care has long been shown to be better not only for patients but also for the well-being of family doctors, says Dr. Allan Grill, lead physician of the Markham Family Health Team and chief of family medicine at Markham-Stouffville Hospital in York Region just north of Toronto.

“You can’t expect family physicians to just add on layers and layers of work,” said Grill in an interview. “From the perspective of attracting and recruiting more family physicians, we need this team-based model.” 

Grill says the aging population means that patients’ health needs are becoming more complex. 

• Ontario reaches agreement-in-principle on health funding from federal government

“If we want family physicians to be able to spend the time with those patients and even take on new patients, something has to give,” he said. “They need more support than they’re getting now, and the team-based model is the way to do it.” 

Less than 30 per cent of people in Ontario are currently covered by any form of team-based primary care. 

The biggest source of this is what the Ministry of Health calls “family health teams” (FHTs). About 3.4 million patients are enrolled in one of the 184 teams scattered around the province, according to figures from the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario. 

However, for the past decade, Ontario has made it all but impossible for physicians to form new family health teams. All but three of the existing FHTs were created between 2005 and 2012. 

At the Village Family Health Team in Toronto, 11 family physicians work together with two psychiatrists, a group of registered nurses, as well as a nurse practitioner, social worker, physiotherapist, dietitian, chiropodist and a pharmacist. About 3.4 million Ontarians get their primary care through a family health team. (Craig Chivers/CBC)

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Midland Today Published an article February 23, 2023

North Simcoe Family Health Team urges residents to contact MPP about ‘highly needed’ service.

Due to the rising numbers of respiratory illnesses in our region, the North Simcoe Family Health Team (NSFHT) opened the COVID-19, Cold and Flu Care Clinic (CCFCC) on Dec. 14, 2022.

The goal of the clinic is to ease the pressure on the hospital emergency department and provide alternative, accessible care for the community.

“The hospital is very pleased with the success of this clinic because of the substantial positive impact it’s had on our community. Having this service available for low acuity illness such as cold and flu enables the hospital to focus on high patient volumes for more serious, complex patients,” says Angie Saini, vice-president, clinical services and chief nursing executive. “The COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinic is a perfect example of how partners working together through Ontario Health Teams can make a difference in providing accessible, co-ordinated access for patients. It really is about providing the right care in the right setting at the right time.”

Since opening its doors, the clinic has seen over 550 patients in a six-week period, and doesn’t expect to see a decrease in demand in the coming months. This demand includes children and individuals who do not have a primary health-care provider and require same-day access.

“We’ve seen high volumes of individuals and families through the clinic in the past six weeks and we want to make sure we continue offering as much support as we can to those who need it,” says Andrew Shantz, executive director of the North Simcoe Family Health Team. “On most days the clinic is fully booked and there continues to be a growing demand — especially with access to same-day or next-day appointments. When fully staffed, the CCFCC can see 35 to 40 patients per day.”

The clinic’s role is to provide assessment, testing and treatment for people experiencing COVID-19, cold, flu or other respiratory symptoms, and offers an opportunity for families and individuals in north Simcoe to access care quickly and efficiently.

“Unfortunately, our community does not have another option for urgent care beyond the hospital’s emergency department. Without support like the CCFCC, most patients will either end up at the emergency department — which is not always the best place for this sort of care — or make the decision to not seek the care they require,” says Shantz.

The clinic was originally created to support the community’s health-care needs during the pandemic and the heightened cold and flu season. However, the CCFCC has proven to be an excellent option for those not requiring emergency department care, but seeking medical assessment, care and navigation for all non-emergent issues — including chronic disease management, surge response, preventative care, etc.

“It is our understanding that the CCFCC funding will cease on March 31, 2023. A clinic like this is able to adapt to the needs of the community — whether it’s supporting patients with colds, episodics, or preventative care. It’s going to be a challenge for our community to lose a service that is so highly needed, and we know that other clinics across the province are facing similar challenges,” says Shantz.

For more information, community members are encouraged to contact their local member of provincial parliament to inquire about the sustainability of the COVID-19, Cold and Flu Care Clinic in north Simcoe.

Huntsville Doppler Published an article February 24, 2023

The service will begin on Tuesday, February 28 for unattached patients seeking primary care. The phone line to book an appointment will open a day before on the 27th of February, by calling 705-789-1744. Appointments can also be booked at algonquinfht.ca.

Patients who have a local family doctor or nurse practitioner will not be seen for primary care at the clinic and redirected back to their doctor or nurse practitioner.

The Algonquin Family Health Team and the Town of Huntsville have been partnering together to create the Huntsville Health Care Clinic, located at The Annex, 1 Minerva Street East.

The Clinic’s goals are to reduce Emergency Department visits and provide comprehensive primary care to the community for those who do not have a family
doctor or nurse practitioner.

“The HHCC will not be taking on patients permanently. Patients without a primary care provider are asked to sign up on their local waitlist. Accessing this clinic will not affect your waitlist status. We understand that there is a great need for primary care in Huntsville and beyond and we are expecting high volumes. Your understanding and patience is important as we start to see unattached patients,” states the release. “Requests for appointments will be returned if we can accommodate you. Unattached patients in the Huntsville area are encouraged to register on the wait list on the Algonquin Family Health Team website at algonquinfht.ca and can also access virtual care and learn more about where to get care at https://www.mahc.ca/en/services/where-to-get-care-muskoka.aspx.“