A number of retiring doctors has left Hamilton with the same number of family physicians it had in 2005.
That’s despite a more than 10-year effort to recruit more family doctors to the city.
Physician recruiter Jane Walker says the city still has a shortage of 44 doctors, even though 272 have been recruited over the last 12 years.
That’s because 105 of them have left the city in the past 3.5 years alone, almost a third of the workforce.
“As the physician population ages… I need to find young people who can take over their practices and continue to care for their patients,” Walker told the Bill Kelly Show on CHML.
“Definitely, it’s been an uphill challenge for a long time.”
According to Ontario Ministry of Health ratios, Hamilton should have 389 family physicians, but there are 345 currently practising in the city, up from 342 this time last year.
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