REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: September 23, 2022 Report No. DEV-22-093
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Mikaila Montgomery, Planner and James Davison, Manager of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Family Doctor Shortage - Municipal Strategies
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council receive Report No. DEV-22-093 for information.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Official Community Plan Bylaw, 2018, No. 2922
Zoning Bylaw, 1992, No. 2050
Local Government Act
Community Charter
Municipal Act
Hospital Act
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Healthy, Livable and Diverse Community: Support community growth, housing, and development consistent with our Official Community Plan
BACKGROUND:
Context
Doctors of BC estimates that approximately 100,000 patients in the Greater Victoria Area are without a Family Physician. Patients without a Family Physician rely on walk-in clinics and Urgent Primary Care Centres to provide care. Recent clinic closures in the Greater Victoria Area have further exacerbated the issue, limiting access to the population's primary care needs. A recent survey by the South Island Division Family Practice indicates that an additional 15 Family Physicians in the South Island intend to retire in the next 5 years which will leave an additional 22,500 patients without primary care. Esquimalt presently has one Urgent and Primary Care Centre and one walk-in clinic.
Urgent and Primary Care Centres, intended to provide additional access to primary care, have received over $8 million in funding from the CRD in the last two years. While these centres are helpful, they are not able to meet the demand of the community and continue to suffer from healthcare staff shortages. Shortages are also causing long wait times that are double the national average (2.5 hours according to Medimap.ca, an online service which estimates wait times for walk-in medical clinics in real-time).
Reasons for the Family Physician shortages and clinic closures incl...
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