Ask Ontario Doctors: Solving the health-care crisis in northern Ontario

Northern Ontario communities have profound physician shortages due to chronic recruitment and retention challenges. That means many northern emergency departments are at risk of closure. Family doctors, who also provide emergency care in the north, have unsustainably high workloads. Patients don’t have the same access to care or health outcomes as people in other parts of Ontario.

Ontario’s doctors have solutions to the unique health-care challenges in northern Ontario.

OMA President Dr. Andrew Park hosts an expert panel including:

Dr. Sarita Verma, dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University.
Dr. Sarah Newbery, NOSM’s assistant dean of physician workforce strategy and a family physician.
Dr. Laurel Laakso, chief of staff at the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre.