North Grenville recruits 1st physician through incentive program
When finding a family doctor feels like winning the lottery, a new incentive program has given the township of North Grenville a winning ticket.
The Primary Care Incentive Program, initiated by North Grenville council in March, has recruited its first full-time family physician that will practise at the Kemptville Medical Centre.
Roderick MacPhee, who's been working as a locum in Kemptville since finishing medical school two years ago, has committed to taking at least 1,000 new patients off of wait-lists in the township, with the goal of attending to 1,500 in the near future.
"The patients I meet day-to-day and the people I work with at the clinic have all been amazing, especially for a new graduate," he told Ottawa Morning on Thursday.
North Grenville is a township of 18,000 people 50 kilometres south of Ottawa.
Mayor Nancy Peckford explained that previous doctors have departed the community or retired recently, leaving a hole in the system.
As such, council allocated up to $200,000 over five years for two family doctors that would commit to the community long term. Doctors will receive $20,000 per year over the five years and MacPhee is the first of two they're hoping to recruit.
"To give up to 3,000 residents in our community access to a family doctor, it certainly seems like money well-spent," Peckford said.
In exchange, the new doctors must take a minimum of 800 patients, spend 75 per cent of their time operating a family practice, and work in the local hospital in Kemptville, the largest community in North Grenville.
"Our local hospital is heavily relied upon, and that additional time from family physicians brings a huge relief," she said.
The Kemptville District Hospital's emergency department. Mayor Nancy Peckford explained that previous doctors have departed the community or retired recently, leaving a hole in the system. (Nicole Williams/CBC)
A familiar story
North Grenville's experience is like many other Ontario communities, as incentives are becoming more common to attract physicians to rural areas.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians estimates more than 2 million Ontarians are without a family doctor, and those shortages are felt more acutely in rural and remote parts of the province.
Although no official statistics about the incentives doctors are tempted with exist in the province, multiple sources told CBC the practice appears to be growing in eastern Ontario.
Relocation costs and skyrocketing housing prices are two of the biggest barriers In North Grenville, according to Peckford. She's hoping that this incentive can offset some costs.
"This isn't the end of the story for us," she said. "We're looking for a sustainable system for all medical practitioners.
"These communities are really rewarding. We're a higher growth community with a very diverse population and a local hospital," she said. "We have a lot to offer."
At the end of the day, MacPhee wouldn't trade his new gig for city living.
"I really would encourage new graduates to come out to these communities and try it out and see for themselves," he said. "It's not only professionally satisfying but personally satisfying as well."
