GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Guelph/Eramosa Council has agreed to set some township funding aside to attract new family doctors to practice in Rockwood.
During a meeting Tuesday, council approved up to $60,000 be used as a top-up for the salaries for two potential new family doctors for the East Wellington Family Health Team.
Information provided by Kim Bell, Executive Director at the family health team said the Rockwood branch had lost a family doctor who had a roster of 1,300 patients in the surrounding area.
“The majority of the 1,300 had to be de-rostered when a year and a half of recruitment efforts netted zero new physicians,” a letter from Bell stated.
Currently the family health team is negotiating with two physicians considering settling into family practice in Rockwood.
In the letter to council, Bell said of concern to both of them is that, as salaried physicians with salary tied to the number of rostered patients, as their rosters build, there will be a gap in salary in the early months.
“If these were new medical grads, they would be eligible for the Ontario government’s Income Stabilization Program (IS) which allows for a top-up of salary for up to a year, within their first year of practice, to minimize the financial shortfall while they grow their practice. The two physicians we are currently negotiating with, however, are experienced physicians and, as such, are ineligible for IS subsidy.”
Mayor Chris White said it would almost be negligent of council not to support getting doctors into the community.
Councillor Corey Woods was in favour of the request, however did not want to see it go on the tax payer.
“We have a very expeditious process ready to execute which would see patients enrolled to these physicians very quickly, which would result in them reaching income stability within the first 2-3 months. Municipal funds would only be used for shortfalls within those early weeks. Any surplus would be returned to the Township of Guelph-Eramosa,” the letter to council said.
Council unanimously approved the East Wellington Family Health Teams request.
