Council reluctantly spends $100,000 to attract doctors

Ford government urged to deal with shortage of healthcare workers

Trent Hills Council has reluctantly chipped another $100,000 into the kitty to lure doctors to the community, but several councillors said it is time for the Ford government to fix a problem it has created.

Councillors who attended the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) conference last weekend in Toronto said many rural municipalities are fed up that they are in bidding wars with each other to attract medical staff.

“We are having to compete with other municipalities,” said Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf. “This will continue until something is done at the provincial level.”

At its Thursday, Jan. 25, meeting council approved a $100,000 annual grant for 2024 to the Trent Hills Family Health Organization for physician attraction and retention to help attract doctors.

The family health team is to report by September 30 on how the money has been spent and the progress on physician recruitment.

This is separate from the $75,000 it spends on the Trent Hills Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee that is part of Campbellford Memorial Hospital.

That committee says it is currently looking for:

• Full-Time Emergency Medicine

• Emergency Medicine Locums

• Hospitalists

• Family Practice (FHO Model)

“All full-time opportunities are eligible for up to $80,000 over four years as part of the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative designed to assist in staffing high needs communities,” the committee says.