A few years ago, one of the top political issues in Kingston was the difficulty many faced in accessing primary care. A local study back in 2022 suggested that more than 30,000 residents did not have a family doctor and had no reliable way to access the care they needed – aside from visiting the hospital emergency room.
Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. In fact, we will soon be at a point where every Kingstonian will have access to primary care. Last month, we announced the hiring of eight new physicians, bringing the total number of new family doctors recruited to 33 since the City launched its family physician recruitment campaign.
This success has been the result of strong collaboration over the past few years. The City, along with community and health care partners, has worked together to attract new physicians, provide grants to clinics to help them take on more patients, and launch innovative initiatives like the Midtown Kingston Health Home.
If you are still looking for a primary care provider, you can register at Health Care Connect, through the link below. After submitting your information, you will be contacted with information about a provider who can serve you. Moving forward, our focus here at the City will be on maintaining this momentum, ensuring we continue to have enough family doctors, clinics and nurse practitioners to serve our community. A big focus will be recruiting new physicians to replace those nearing retirement. We’re developing targeted incentives to encourage incoming doctors to take on the patients of retiring ones—helping to minimize any disruptions in care.
At the end of the day, we all understand how vital access to primary care is to our quality of life here in Kingston. I’m deeply grateful for the teamwork and commitment that have brought us this far, and I’m confident that, by continuing to work together, we can ensure everyone in our community has the care they need.
Health Care Connect: https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner