"Recruitment and retention of doctors in Ontario is “not a major concern,” the Ministry of Health suggests in arguments it is making in arbitration with the Ontario Medical Association over physician compensation.
The argument from the province comes as the OMA, which represents Ontario’s doctors, has repeatedly warned that more than two million residents don’t have a family doctor"
There weren’t enough doctors five years ago, either. If demand is already huge, a small increase in supply is not going to catch up. Furthermore, what percentage of those doctors are in family medicine? I haven’t heard that there’s nearly as much of a shortage of specialists (except in more remote areas where there’s always been a shortage of specialists).
Percentages are deceptive here. What we need are absolute numbers: how many primary care practitioners (both family doctors and nurse-practitioners) are needed, how many we already have, how many new ones are entering the field vs. how many are leaving, and a breakdown of those numbers per region.