ELORA – A local health official says Centre Wellington is an attractive spot for doctors and other medical professionals.
Elora physician Dr. Sarah Gower, a representative from the Centre Wellington and Area Health Professional Recruitment and Retention Committee, provided an update to Centre Wellington council on Nov. 25.
“I think we’re probably at about 75% of our current physicians came through as students or residents,” Gower said.
She added, “I also have to thank you guys, the public, for … welcoming them as you seek your own medical care and have them involved in care of you and your families. We consistently get feedback that not only did they love our community and our hospital, but they really are enamoured by our patients, by you guys, the public, who are very welcoming to them.
“[You] ask them lots of questions about who they are and where they’re from and they really enjoy the personal and the rural welcoming that they get here.”
Gower noted that over the last decade, Centre Wellington has lost physicians due to retirement only.
“No one’s just sort of left the area, which is very unusual in Ontario right now,” she said.
The community welcomed four new physicians this year: Dr. Paul Jones at the Arthur Family Health Team, Dr. Megan Williams and Dr. Giselle Botia Cortes at Riverview Medical Group in Fergus, and Dr. Sam Thompson at Summit Medical in Fergus.
Williams grew up in Centre Wellington and completed a co-op placement in a medical field while the other three new doctors were medical residents in Centre Wellington.
Retention part of mandate
“That just proves our lasting impression on our learners,” Gower said. “We have some more retirements coming up so we continue to recruit for those and retention is another part of our mandate.”
Councillor Bob Foster asked how many people in Centre Wellington are without a family doctor. Gower said there isn’t an exact figure.
A good way to find a family doctor, she said, is through the government website Healthcare Connect, where patients can register to be considered for a new family doctor.
However, Gower said the tricky part of the registry is that a patient is supposed to say they don’t have a family doctor. They must become “unrostered” from their doctor if their current doctor is rostered.
“People are reticent to do that because they feel like they then don’t have a family doctor,” Gower explained. “The truth is that their old family physician should still continue to see them, 100 per cent, even when they’re not rostered to them any further.”
Healthcare Connect also ranks those looking for a family physician in terms of medical issue complexity, whether they’re pregnant, whether they’re old or whether they’re young.
“It slightly prioritizes the individuals that have a higher need at the moment but it doesn’t play favourites after that,” Gower said. “So it doesn’t just favour the patient who has called my office 10 times.
“It’s a bit more equitable.”
She added physicians are taking patients off of that list in Centre Wellington. She suggested people looking for a new family physician should register on Healthcare Connect.
However, she did say physicians at the Arthur Family Health Centre have a commitment to take on any patients within their geographical region who need a family physician.
“I would never hesitate to call that office,” she said.
Mayor Kelly Linton said it was good to hear the information.
“It’s really good to hear those numbers that actually the efforts are really working in both the recruitment and the retention … and the fact that … doctors and folks are sticking around,” he said.
