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Dear Editor,
My visit to the Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital emergency department, conversations with other users of the emergency department, and the appointment of Dr. J. Philpott as the chair of the Primary-Care Action Team has caused me to reflect on the state of medical service in the province.
The conclusion I have come too is that the medical service is good once you are on the inside of the system. However, preventive medicine and access to the medical service in the first place is not stellar.
The root of this appears to be a shortage of doctors and other medical personnel. The recent reorganization of home care and the creation of health teams does not appear to have greatly improved the access to primary care.
Time will tell if the recent creation of Primary Action Team will significantly improve the situation. I have great doubts that it will do so. This opinion is based on the statement the province made in conjunction with Dr. Philpott’s appointment. The announcement stated that there was a 10 per cent increase in family physicians since 2018. However, as the population has increase about 12 per cent in the same period, we actually have gone backwards not forward.
The formation of a new team will not overcome this fundamental staff shortage.
Konrad Brenner
Ramara
