Local partners receive $5.3M in funding from the Ontario Government to expand access to team-based primary care in London, Middlesex County, and Elgin County
The waitlist for primary health care in London, Middlesex County, and Elgin County, is about to be shorter.
A collaborative project to expand access to team-based primary care is the recipient of $5.3M in government funding to attach up to 12,675 people by March 2027.
This endeavour, led by the Thames Valley Family Health Team (TVFHT), with support from the Middlesex London Ontario Health Team (MLOHT), and the Middlesex London Primary Care Network (MLPCN), will bring access to primary care closer to home. This will help our family, friends, and neighbours, many of them who have waited years on the Health Care Connect list.
Mary Hay, Executive Director of the Southwest Middlesex Health Centre, one of the project partners, welcomes this positive change. “We are constantly being asked if we are taking patients,” she says. “It will be nice to finally say ‘yes, we are’!”
Southwest Middlesex Health Centre joins the list of community partners that includes an additional seven Family Health Organizations, a Community Health Centre, and a Family Health Team. They will be supporting the attachment of people living in specific neighbourhoods in London, Middlesex County, Elgin County, and the three First Nations Communities – Chippewa of the Thames First Nation, Munsee-Delaware Nation, and Oneida Nation of the Thames.
“This means more of our families will see a doctor without sitting on a waitlist,” says Chief Todd Cornelius, Oneida Nation of the Thames. “It means access to care that can respond to our needs in a timely, respectful, and culturally safe way. It is our hope that this support will remove barriers that members of our community currently face. This investment reflects what can happen when we work together for the good of our people.”
The initial focus will be on the highest number of residents not connected to primary care – including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist – located in the postal codes N5V, N5Y, N6G, N6H, N0M, and N0L. Currently, close to 41,000 residents in these areas are without a provider.
“This is just the beginning,” says Mike McMahon, Executive Director, TVFHT. “We will continue to work with the provincial government to help achieve their goal of connecting everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029.”
As part of this initiative, the community partners and their patients will soon be able to access team-based care. This includes interdisciplinary health professionals, such as primary care nurse practitioners, nurses, mental health counsellors, pharmacists, dietitians, respiratory therapists, and occupational therapists.
“Team-based care gives physicians additional support to care for their patients and provides increased space and capacity to care for more people in our community,” says Dr. Vineet Nair, a family doctor and co-chair of the Middlesex London Primary Care Network. “With more physicians having access to more team members, along with ensuring all are working at the full scope of their skills, it allows patients to see the right provider at the right time and increases the ability for more patients to get the primary care they need and deserve.”
MLOHT Lead Amber Alpaugh-Bishop says the collaborative “will combine clinical expertise and local knowledge to streamline the attachment process, and focus resources where needed.”
“We have a great team ready to lead this,” adds McMahon. “They have the skills necessary to help the community, and, more importantly, they have the compassion and dedication. We are honoured to support this project and connect people to care where they live.”
“Many people in our community have been waiting too long to find a family doctor or primary care provider”, says Rob Flack, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London. “This funding will help connect thousands of residents with the care they deserve, and I want to thank the Thames Valley Family Health Team and all our local health partners for stepping up to meet this urgent need.”
If you or someone you know does not have a primary care provider, please register for Health Care Connect.
Community Partners:
This project was co-developed with MLOHT and the MLPCN, with the support of the following partners:
- Core London Family Health Organization
- Forest City Family Health Organization
- St. Joseph’s Health Care London
- West Elgin Community Health Centre
- Southwest Middlesex Health Centre
- Four Counties Family Health Team
- Masonville Family Health Organization
- Dr. Rebecca Whitehead
- GROW Family Health
- London Family Health Team