Surge in Windsor-Essex residents without family doctor reinforces calls for health teams

The number of individuals without a family physician in Windsor-Essex has increased by 22 per cent, according to recent data from Inspire Primary Health Care.

In a report released by the organization earlier this year, which includes data updated for Mar. 2022, the number of people in Windsor-Essex who do not have a family doctor sits at 44,000.

During the same month in 2020, it was reported 36,000 people in the region were without a primary care physician.

Dr. Jennifer Bondy, a Windsor-based family physician and a board member for the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP), has been advocating for solutions to address the issue of access to primary care for years.

"We're continuing to push forward with the same solutions: to try and increase the amount of team-based care and decrease the administrative burden," said Bondy.

When Julia Paddon's doctor announced his retirement, she was worried about finding a new physician to take over her care. Fortunately, Paddon is a patient of a team-based healthcare model.

Unlike traditional family medicine, which relies on a single physician to manage a patient's health, team-based healthcare involves a team of healthcare professionals who work together to provide comprehensive care to patients.

Paddon said between her previous doctor's retirement and her new doctor taking over, her son needed catch-up immunizations, she was due for a mammogram and a pap smear and she needed a referral for physiotherapy and another specialist.

"There were never any gaps in my care," said Paddon. "If I hadn't been with a family health team, I would've panicked. I don't know what I would have done."

"There needs to be more family health teams because you've got all of these services right there under one roof."

Administrative burden on family physicians continues to be a major factor in the shortage of family doctors in Ontario. On average, Bondy said, family physicians spend 19 hours per week filling out paperwork — time that could be better spent with patients.

Patients with chronic conditions require regular check-ups to monitor their health and prevent complications. Without access to a family physician, she added, patients may delay necessary appointments, leading to further health issues which places a burden on other healthcare specialists.

According to Bondy, more than 4,000 people in Windsor-Essex who do not have a family doctor have been given a mental health diagnosis. Nearly 1,800 people without a family doctor have also been diagnosed with diabetes.

For the latter group, Bondy said, not having a family doctor can result in dire consequences.

“It might mean that they might put off their annual trip to the optometrist, which could lead to worsening eye disease later on. It could mean that their kidneys don't end up staying as healthy as they might otherwise have, which means nephrologists or kidney doctors might be impacted,” said Bondy.

“It might mean the diabetes becomes so advanced that we might need to send the patient to an endocrinologist or a diabetes doctor specialist … so you can imagine when we consider all of the people with all of the diagnoses they have, it certainly has a ripple effect throughout the system.”

Across the province, the number of Ontarians without a family doctor increased from 1.8 million in March 2020 to 2.2 million people two years later, according to Inspire’s report.

Help may be on the way, however, as the provincial and federal governments have recently highlighted the need to address gaps in primary care access.

Last month, the Ford government announced it is setting aside $30 million for the creation of 18 new primary care teams under its Your Health initiative. Officials have previously said 1,200 family physicians will be permitted to join a team-based model of care over the next two years.

In a separate agreement which has yet to be finalized, the federal government is expected to provide Ontario with $8.4 billion in new funding, as well as a one-time top-up of $776 million to address pressing needs in pediatric hospitals, emergency rooms and surgeries with long wait times.