Addressing the doctor shortage in Frontenac County

Jeff Green | Apr 06, 2022

In addition to her role as a family physician at the Sydenham Medical Centre, Dr. Jeanette Dietrich is the lead physician for the Rural Kingston Family Health Organisation (RK-FHO)

“Our group represents five clinics, three in Frontenac County and two in Lennox and Addington,” Dr. Dietrich said in a phone interview last week, “and as we are, hopefully, starting to emerge from COVID, which had been quite a time for all of us in family care, we are turning our attention to catching up from where we left off two years ago.”

A major issue for the RK-FHO, which has only become more relevant with the passage of two years, is doctor recruitment.

“We have clinics in the FHO that have a single physician,” said Dr. Dietrich, “and that is not sustainable. The Verona Clinic is a two-physician practice, and Dr. Gibbens has been the only permanent physician there since 2016. Also, Dr. Bell has been providing admirable service in Sharbot Lake for 51 years, and will need to retire, so that puts a more urgent spotlight on the need to recruit family physicians, which is not easy anywhere and has proved to be even more challenging in rural areas.”

The Family Health Organisation met with Frontenac County politicians in early March to “begin a conversation about how we can work together to promote Frontenac County as a great place to live and work for a family physician.”

She also noted that the City of Kingston is attempting to address their own shortage of family physicians with an incentive program.

“We realise that we need to dial up our efforts as well.” she said.

The meeting in early March was attended by Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith, as well as Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle, North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, and Councillor John McDougall from South Frontenac, who is the long-time chair of Kingston Frontenac Public Health.

“They did express an understanding of the problem and an interest to work together,” said Dr. Dietrich of the meeting. The Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus met in March, as well, and elevated physician recruitment to one of their primary goals for the year. The Society of Rural Physicians is holding a continuing education conference in Ottawa next month, and we will have a booth there to speak about local opportunities.”

Because of its location, the Sharbot Lake Clinic is able to access provincial funding for a rural incentive, $92,000 over 4 years, which is something that the other 4 clinics in the Rural Kingston FHO do not have access to.

Dr. Dietrich said that township councils will be approached as well.

“In a survey of graduating medical students, fifty five percent said incentives were important to them. Young physicians have large debt loads to pay off, up to $250,000, so being able to pay off some of that debt is relevant. But other factors are important as well. Sixty five percent of the graduating students, who were surveyed, said they want to move somewhere that fits their partner’s career plans. So there is a lot to consider when recruiting.”

But focusing solely on recruiting in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington would be a mistake, she said.

“We need to look provincially as well. Ontario spends the second least amount of money on healthcare in Canada, ahead of only British Columbia, and is seventh in terms of numbers of physicians per capita. And Canada, as a whole, lags as well. Those are all issues that people might consider asking their candidates about during the upcoming provincial election.”

She also said that the number of medical school graduates in the family medicine stream is low, and only about half of graduating physicians in the family medicine stream intend to set up a family practice, others are interested in different aspects of medicine, or a focused practice, which is necessary for the healthcare system but does not address the shortage of physicians in family practice.

Even with these issues at play, Dr. Dietrich said that she is optimistic that, with some incentives and promotional materials, it will be possible to recruit family physicians in this region.

“The Frontenac area has lots to offer. That's why lots of people are leaving cities to move here, and remote working is another reason for people to come here. Being near a teaching hospital, with the opportunities that come from that, is also attractive.”