Docs by the Bay, a physician recruitment and retention group funded by the Municipality of Quinte West, Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Municipality of Brighton was established in 2017, and they under the efforts of their Manager, Paula Mason, have recruited another doctor into the area to service patients in Brighton and Quinte West.
Mason told us they were created to help bridge the gap.
Dr. Peter Stryde has signed medical service agreements with the Municipality of Brighton and the City of Quinte West to practice family medicine out of his Quinte West clinic in the coming weeks.
Stryde, originally from Newfoundland / Labrador, completed his undergraduate education and medical training at Memorial University of Newfoundland and has practiced family medicine for eight years in rural Newfoundland.
All patients will be seen at Stryde’s clinic located in unit one of 64 Ontario St. in Quinte West.
“We are not designed to find you a doctor, our focus is to bring more doctors to set up their practices here,” said Paula Mason – Manager of Docs the Bay.
Paula said they’re working to replace a number of doctors set to retire soon.
Docs by the Bay has already had other successes, recruiting 17 doctors to the area including Dr. Angela Lambrakos and Dr. Getnet Asrat, but it’s not without its challenges.
Mason told us recruiting, especially in rural areas, is challenging.
“It’s a competitive market, with more municipalities setting up their own recruitment programs, and new doctors want to start with smaller patient loads, so to replace a well-established doctor with a rooster of 3,000, we need to recruit 3 new doctors.”
According to Health Care Connect, there are currently 400 people in Brighton without family physicians but Mason believes that there are more than that.
Mason told us they’ll be adding another doctor before the summer.
Paula told us if you’ve completed paperwork with these new doctors, you’re a patient.
“People are afraid to de-roster with their out of town doctor, but they might not ever get a local doctor without registering on Health Care Connect, and you can’t register until you are de-rostered. It also understates our local needs.”
That means if you’ve moved here recently you need to deregister with your old doctor.
Her best advice, communicate with your current physician to see if they can de-roster you but would be still willing to see you until you can get a new doctor.
“Physicians are very aware of Health Care Connects, and about the shortages, so best to have an open conversation with them to see what they can do for you as you wait for a local family doctor,” added Mason. Brightonians who need a doctor can register with Health Care Connect – My Home Page – MOHLTC (gov.on.ca) online or by phoning, 1-800-869-8828.
Written by Alicia Vandine
