The Grey Bruce Ontario Health Team is hoping they’ll get some good news after submitting proposals for health care access in the region.
Local primary care clinicians were consulted to find solutions to connect patients with health care providers.
In April, the OHT had been directed by the Ontario government to submit proposals that could result in health care funding this summer.
Lindsay Johnston, the Executive Director of the Grey Bruce Ontario Health Team shared an update with Bruce County Council on Thursday, saying that they submitted proposals to the province for people living in the N0H and N0G postal codes.
“We had three weeks, and actually only 12 working days to submit these, and we were able to engage over 50 family doctors and nurse practitioners in the development of both of these proposals, as well as all 40 of our OHT partners who are senior leaders of local health care and social service organization,” Johnston said. “If we are successful in the proposal that we submitted for the N0H postal code, this would support attachment of an additional 9,600 residents of those municipalities, and also an additional almost 25,000 will gain access to team-based care.”
Primary care practices and clinicians currently providing care to people living in the identified postal codes were invited to submit proposals through the OHT, as well as the primary care network.
She added, “For the N0G proposal that we submitted, if successful, that will look at attaching an additional 8,000 patients to primary care. Again, this is contingent on being able to recruit the human resources required, but this is what we’ve put in as our need to the province. We’re supposed to be hearing within the next couple weeks.”
Both the OHT and the PCN lead local efforts to support primary care practices, family doctors, nurse practitioners, and other primary care clinicians to identify attachment gaps within their postal codes.
They can then coordinate proposals to help the residents in the region secure a primary care practitioner.
Additionally, for those postal codes that weren’t included in the first round of proposals, there will be a second call for submissions that is going to come out in the spring.
There are currently 59 Ontario Health Teams in the province, and the local OHT represents both Grey and Bruce Counties.
