Should Amherstburg use municipal tax dollars to help recruit doctors?
That is the question council will debate on Monday evening.
In January, a motion, brought forward by coun. Diane Pouget, was passed requesting staff to bring back a report on initiatives to recruit doctors and nurse practitioners, including costs, advertising methods, and possible recruitment ideas.
According to the report, Amherstburg currently has 15 primary care providers, and despite one recent departure, no patients were left without care.
About 92 percent of residents are attached to a family doctor, which is better than the provincial average.
However, deputy mayor Chris Gibb says that still means around 1,800 residents are without primary care.
"The other thing that they say in the report that's very important, is just because you're attached to a primary care option, doesn't mean you have access, some of these clinics, you know, you call to book an appointment and you're three weeks, four weeks, so it's definitely something we need to keep pushing for better access and better frontline medical care," he said.
Gibb asked for feedback through his social media page and said residents were very vocal on the issue.
"They want more access to family doctors, more access to family health teams, more access to urgent care, so the message was received loud and clear," said Gibb.
So who recruits doctors?
Administration says healthcare funding and doctor recruitment are provincial responsibilities, and several programs are already underway locally through the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team.
The report says the best role for the town is to continue building an attractive community for medical professionals, and if council wants to do more, it should work with existing health teams rather than launching its own recruitment program.
Gibb agreed with the findings and said he looked forward to hearing directly from officials with the Windsor-Essex Ontario Health Team and Windsor-Essex County Health Unit at Monday's meeting.
"That's the sweet spot, that's where we're going to get the most action or traction, is if we partner with people who are already trying to recruit," he said.
Amherstburg council will debate the issue at 6 p.m. Monday.