Northern Ontario patients don't have as much access to doctors as those in the south: report

A report from the provincial agency, Health Quality Ontario, is re-enforcing what many in northeastern Ontario already suspect people in the region have less frequent access to family doctors and nurse practitioners.

For instance, it found about one in three patients in northeastern Ontario get same-day or next-day appointments with their primary care providers if they get sick.

Morning North7:03Access to family doctor still an issue in the north

A Health Quality Ontario report says northerners often find the doctor is out. France Gelinas is the health critic for Ontario and the NDP MPP for Nickel Belt. She shared some of her thoughts about the report.

That compares to almost one in two patients for other parts of Ontario.

The NDP MPP for Nickel Belt and the parliamentary health critic said the numbers don't surprise her.

"Still, to see it in black and white, how poorly the north is served compared to Toronto area is still ... hard to take," France Gelinas said.

Gelinas said the publiclyfunded report is an accurate picture of the health care system.

While Health Quality Ontario says 94 per cent of Ontarians over 15 have a family physician or nurse practitioner, it found unequal access based on location.

For instance, only one in five northeasterners were able to see their family doctor within a week of serious lung or heart surgery. That compares to more than one in three for those in the central part of the province.

Gelinas said she hopes the report will shake the system up.

"People will demand change, and you don't do all this work to measure to then be happy with the status quo."

Read the report