Peterborough Plans To Address Doctor Shortage In Area With New Committee

A new committee is being formed in Peterborough in hopes to plan and implement strategies for family physician recruitment and retention, announced last week.

Stock Photo.

This committee is being formed to address a shortage of doctors in Peterborough and Peterborough County.

Currently, it is estimated that about 11,000 people in the area lack a family doctor, and it would take nine new full-time physicians to fill the gap.

The committee was presented at Peterborough City Council last Wednesday, and is still in the early stages of development. It is recommending increased funding from the county.

At a Nov. 3 county council meeting, Maria Gomez, a committee member of the education department of the Canadian Association of Staff Physician Recruiters and director for the West Northumberland Physician Recruitment, spoke to council regarding the lack of physicians in the area.

Gomez said that 20 per cent of the population is at risk of not having the required health care services.

The county, city and the Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) have a tri-party agreement for physician recruitment services, with the county contributing $14,980 annually and the city contributing $21,220 in 2021.

The November presentation recommended increasing their budgets to match competitive programs in other communities.

The city has since committed to funding $81,000 in 2022.

The funding request of $57,000 for the county in 2022 has been referred to the county 2022 budget.

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