The Prince Edward Family Health Team is among eight regional primary care teams in the Quinte area that will be receiving $4.456 million from the provincial government to connect up to 10,675 people to primary care in Hastings and Prince Edward counties.

The investment is part of Ontario’s $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team. The goal in 2025 is to connect 300,000 Ontarians to primary care. The funds will allow FHTs to recruit resources that will assist in rostering unattached patients and managing patient care.

Currently, over 35,000 patients in the Quinte area don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

These patients go without important preventive care. Many wind up in emergency rooms for medical issues which could have been managed much earlier.

The announcement, made Monday July 7 at the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre in Belleville, involved numerous stakeholders and health leaders as well as Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp, Hastings-Lennox & Addington MPP Ric Bresee, and Mayor Steve Ferguson.

“Reliable access to primary care is essential to the health and wellness of Hastings and Prince Edward
residents. This access helps them navigate the health-care system and allows them to be productive members of our communities. It also supports Quinte Health in providing acute and urgent care when we need it,” said MPP Allsopp.

New to the Roster

Each of the Primary care groups within the Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health Team catchment area will establish a process to accept new patients and will communicate this process to their local community. The funds will allow FHTs to recruit resources that will assist in rostering unattached patients and other clerical needs.

In addition to the PEFHT, these FHTs include the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre, Belleville’s Queen’s Family Health Team, the Prince Edward Family Health Team, the Lakeview Family Health Team, the Belleville Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, the Gateway Community Health Centre, the Central Hastings Family Health Team, and the Bancroft Community Family Health Team.

A recent call for proposals by the Ministry of Health focused on communities—identified by postal code—with the highest number of residents not connected to primary care led to this funding announcement.

Each successful team has established a plan to attach a high proportion of unattached people in their postal codes and demonstrated readiness to achieve significant progress within a year.

“Research has shown having a family physician extends life expectancy. Having quality primary care reduces mortality from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer,” said Dr. Robert Pincock, Co-Lead of the Hastings Prince Edward Family Health Team Primary Care Network and a physician at the Queen’s Family Health Team. Access to a family physician “also reduces hospital admissions and emergency department use. Connecting more residents to primary care will have a significant impact on the health of our communities. This investment brings us a step closer to achieving our goal of connecting all our community members to primary care.”

The Local Scene

Executive Director of the PEFHT Barinder Gill told the Gazette the local group is excited about this investment.

“This funding enables us to begin transformative work of connecting all residents to primary care and enhancing and advancing how primary care is delivered,” Mr. Gill said in an email. “Primary health care is often a forgotten area of the health care system and further investments are required to bring it up to a higher level and standard.”

Mayor Ferguson acknowledged the provincial government’s investment and that this support will help ensure more County residents have access to primary care.

“The County prioritizes the health and well-being of residents,” he said. “We will continue to bring forward initiatives aimed at providing more and more people in the community with opportunities to receive primary care.”