Ontario doctors meeting with MPPs at Queen’s Park to discuss healthcare system

Representatives from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) are heading to Queen's Park to discuss issues surrounding the healthcare system in the province. 

Doctors across the province are meeting with members of provincial parliament (MPPs) and cabinet ministers in hopes of pushing solutions to Ontario's healthcare system which continues to see challenges at hospitals across the province of Ontario. 

They will present solutions to shorten wait times, address the doctor shortage and expand palliative care. These solutions are part of OMA’s roadmap for the future: Prescription for Ontario: Doctors’ 5-Point Plan for Better Care which includes:

• Reduce wait times and the backlog of services 
• Expand mental health and addiction services in the community
• Improve and expand home care and other community care 
• Strengthen public health and pandemic preparedness 
• Give every patient a team of health-care providers and link them digitally

An expert panel of doctors will discuss solutions including:  

• Licensing more foreign-trained physicians, through increased residency spots and a government assessment program to assess who is ready to practice now
• Creating standalone centres to perform less complicated outpatient surgeries and procedures covered by OHIP. These not-for-profit, publicly funded Integrated Ambulatory Centres would ease the burden on hospitals and reduce wait times
• Creating more hospice beds and palliative care services to improve the patient experience, support caregivers and reduce pressures on emergency departments

“We are committed to working with governments on some solutions inside a healthcare system that's experiencing tremendous strain,” said Dr. Rose Zacharias, president of the OMA on Wake Up With Rob Snow on Nov. 21. “There's definitely several things on our agenda.”

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Rose Zacharias below: