McGuinty denies Barrie access to essential funds for Physician Recruitment

March 09, 2010

Barrie – MP Brown is distraught over Premier McGuinty’s decision to deny funds to Barrie by removing valuable medical incentives afforded to Barrie as a Designated Underserviced Area under the Provinces’ Underserviced Area Program.
 
The Province announced in the spring that they were considering a new format and criteria for designating areas underserviced. They have since announced that this new format will remove essential funds allowable to Barrie therefore losing grants that have been an important tool to entice new doctors to our area.  Despite Barrie having 30,000 residents without a family doctor, under the new provincial formula, Barrie is no longer considered underserviced.
 
"We will no longer be able to access Free Tuition Grants for new doctors.” said MP Brown.  “As well as an additional $15,000 in Incentive Grants which leaves Barrie short $55,000 in their quest to recruit new physicians to the area." added MP Brown.

Communities that do qualify as an Underserviced Area will be receiving a substantial increase in funding, between $15,000 to $80,000, based on meeting the proper criteria. These communities will qualify based on “index of rurality” determined by travel to a referral centre and population density.  Barrie is not on that list.  The City of Barrie goes from being able to offer $55,000 for each new doctor to not being able to offer any incentives.

 “It was the role of our Member of Provincial Parliament to be a strong advocate on behalf of Barrie residents to ensure that we were not left out in the cold on this issue. I really hope that our provincial representative will demand this change be rescinded,” said MP Brown.

“We need an advocate for us at Queen's Park and not an apologist for government decisions.  The community raised alarm bells about the inadequate funding for CAS and the government responded with some funding.  I suggest we need to raise these same alarm bells about physician recruitment funding” said MP Brown.       

Under the financial incentive system just eliminated by the Provincial Liberal government, this city has had the advantage of 10 doctors being paid $15,000 a year, for four years. In addition, Barrie has 17 doctors in training, in the free tuition program, receiving a total of $680,000 during a four-year period.
 
“Although working at an expanded Royal Victoria Hospital with a regional cancer care centre is an attraction for Physicians, as are all the many amenities Barrie has to offer, these incentives were crucial to Barrie and we were depending on these grants to continue our ongoing recruitment efforts,” said MP Brown.

“I tour medical schools every fall with representatives from RVH and Christie Cadotte from the Recruitment Task Force.  This recruitment incentive was a powerful tool to bring doctors to Barrie. We have used it to recruit dozens of doctors in the past.  McGuinty's decision is a real set back for Simcoe County,” said MP Brown.