Is there a doctor in the village? Search for physician continues in Apsley as telemedicine project launches

The sudden retirement of its only family doctor in June has left the village of Apsley, Ont., searching for a new physician.

For residents of the community north of Peterborough, the nearest doctor is now a 100 to 120-kilometre round trip south to either the village of Lakefield or  Peterborough. A challenging commute for many residents including Rachel Thuston, the mother of a two-year-old child.

“We’ve got to travel an hour all the way to Peterborough and my vehicle’s not on the road right now so it’s hard,” she said. “You have to get rides from friends.”

Longtime physician Dr. Wagy Rayes retired in June and the Peterborough Family Health Team has stepped in to help find a replacement.

“Certainly it’s more of a challenge to recruit to a rural community,” said executive director Lori Richey.

The team is working on alternatives such as a telemedicine service for the more than 1,000 patients in need.

“A nurse would see the patient and they would connect to that patient virtually via TV and their equipment is actually hooked up so the physician can see their blood pressure,” said Richey.

There’s currently a nurse practitioner in the village, but her duties are limited, said North Kawartha Township Deputy Mayor Doug Hutton

“We have no walk-in traffic ability at this point. We literally have to send people to Peterborough or Bancroft or possibly Lakefield,” he said. “A doctor is a key element of a health community in people’s minds.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have no walk-in traffic ability at this point. We literally have to send people to Peterborough or Bancroft or possibly Lakefield," he said. "A doctor is a key element of a health community in people's minds.

Longtime Apsley resident Judy Morley says travel is challenging for seniors like herself. The community is also losing its only bank when RBC moves its branch to Lakefield next spring.

“If you have to travel some miles to go to a doctor and you’re in pain …or if you don’t have a car like a lot of people don’t here and they depend on others to drive them. It can really adversely affect you,” she said.

Hutton says financial incentives might eventually land a family doctor.

“There is a fund through the provincial government called a rural recruitment and retention fund,” said Richey. “And they would be eligible for up to $90,000 if they stayed in that community for four years.”