A huge backlog of people waiting for a primary healthcare provider still needs to be cleared, according to representatives from the Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health Team
HPE-OHT’s primary-care network administrative co-leader Barinder Gill told Hastings County Council at a meeting Thursday that about 4,100 people were still on the Healthcare Connect waitlist to be referred to a Family Physician or Nurse Practitioner.
That’s down still from 6,100 that were cleared from the list from August 1 to March 31 and is a number he said is a “significant under-representation” of the actual number of unattached patients in Hastings County.
An estimated 22,000 total patients are without primary care, he said, but the 4,100 number is being used by provincial health officials to measure the success of Health Care Connect in matching patients with providers.
“The Healthcare Connect list does not include individuals who have moved to our communities from the GTA or Ottawa area that have chosen to keep their providers in their former communities,” Gill explained.
Gill noted the Primary Care Action Team with the Provincial Ministry of Health is providing a competitive funding opportunity and the local OHT managed to have $4.45 million approved for them to use on expansion of services in various communities.
This includes Belleville, Prince Edward County, Bancroft, Brighton, Stirling, Tweed and Gilmour.
The next steps include further implementation of health strategies and expansion of team-based care, ultimately hitting a goal of reaching 5,415 additional patients in local catchment areas for attachment if fully funded.
Currently, the team is awaiting approvals for Round 2 of funding from the province.
