Orillia clinic starts wait list for family doctors, nurse practitioners

When Orillia senior Lillian Cosgrove had a gall bladder attack that required emergency surgery last month, she didn’t get to follow up with her family doctor.

That’s because her family doctor is in Toronto and it’s “ridiculous” getting there, said the 87-year-old.

Despite having lived in Orillia for 25 years, she hadn’t changed doctors because she couldn’t find one locally.

Now, thanks to new developments with the Couchiching Ontario Health Team (COHT) in conjunction with the Couchiching Family Health Team (CFHT), she will soon get primary care at the Unattached Clinic at 119 Memorial Ave. and her name will go on the new wait list for a local family doctor or a nurse practitioner.

“I feel great, a lot better, a lot calmer, a lot more secure,” Cosgrove told OrilliaMatters.

On Tuesday, the COHT and the CFHT announced the launch of the Couchiching Family Physician and Nurse Practitioner Wait List. It is open to permanent residents who do not have a family doctor or a nurse practitioner.

All of the 58 Ontario Health Teams received a memo, before the Feb. 27 provincial election, from Dr. Jane Philpott, chair of the Ontario Primary Care Action Team, asking them to develop a plan to attach everyone to a family doctor or a nurse practitioner within five years.

It is estimated 22,000 to 24,000 people in the Couchiching area (Orillia, Oro-Medonte, Ramara, Severn, and Rama First Nation) are without a doctor, said Jillian Fenik, executive director of the COHT.

“So, who are those people who are unattached?” she asked.

The CFHT is now building a wait list of people looking for a family physician. Fenik said it’s a proactive approach that eliminates a barrier that exists under the current Health Care Connect system and provides a more efficient pathway to care.

People’s names cannot be put on the Health Care Connect wait list for a doctor until they are delisted with a doctor, which has been affecting people who move.

“That is a barrier because people want the safety net to be connected to someone while they are waiting,” Fenik said.

Now, in the Couchiching area, people can delist from a doctor, get primary care at the Unattached Clinic and put their name on the new wait list for a local doctor.

“They now have access to primary care while they are waiting to be attached,” Fenik said.

This also helps new physicians and nurse practitioners recruited to the community.

“When we recruit new physicians and nurse practitioners, we are able to help build their practice quickly and connect a lot of people quickly,” Fenik said.

The Unattached Clinic opened last July, operating Monday to Friday. It offers all the services of a family doctor and all the other services the CFHT offers.

“We are really excited to help facilitate connections to care and build our wait list and work with new practitioners to the community to help build their practices,” she said.

This week, Cosgrove called her Toronto doctor to de-roster with him so she can join the Unattached Clinic and get on the wait list for a local doctor.

“So, that is good,” Cosgrove said.

The Unattached Clinic is open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 705-329-3649, ext. 231, or online through the COHT website.