Zunera Hashmi, a Toronto resident, has been anxiously waiting in line for three years to be assigned a family doctor. When she gets\u00a0stressed, the 28-year-old marketing professional calls the provincial\u00a0help line\u00a0but hears the same message: \u201cWait just a bit longer.\u201d She emails them occasionally but gets\u00a0no reply.<\/p>\n
Over\u00a02.2 million<\/a>\u00a0like Hashmi don\u2019t have a regular family physician in the province of Ontario,\u00a0according to data from health-care researcher\u00a0Inspire Primary Health Care<\/a>, up from 1.8 million two years ago. The shortages are dire in Toronto, Canada\u2019s most populous city and its financial capital. One in five Ontarians, most of them Toronto dwellers, could be without a family doctor in the next three years, according to the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP), which represents 15,000 family doctors in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have\u00a0a full-blown health-care crisis on our hands,\u201d said Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, president of the OCFP, which is raising an alarm. Canada\u2019s population\u00a0saw record growth in 2022<\/a>, spurred in large part by an immigration-friendly policy.\u00a0Older physicians are retiring but fewer medical students are choosing family medicine. And Toronto\u2019s\u00a0aging population faces ever-more medical issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect storm,\u201d Kumanan said.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a> (registration or subscription).<\/p>\n Years-long waits to find a primary care doctor are becoming a \u201cfull-blown health-care crisis\u201d for Ontario https:\/\/t.co\/ULpoRCXX9J<\/a> via @citylab<\/a><\/p>\n — Bloomberg (@business) July 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n