Doctor recruitment in Northumberland County has become increasingly politicized recently. County council voted in June to spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars each of the next two years to take over doctor recruitment. Earlier this month, it issued a call for businesspeople to join a recruitment advisory committee.
Currently, 8,000 people are without primary care, and the number could hit over 20,000 by next year as people move here and doctors retire. It is a crisis, say the experts.
This flies in the face of efforts by the Ontario Health Team Northumberland. It is responsible for coordinating health services in the region. It advocated for a single doctor recruitment committee for the county under its umbrella. Politicians accused the health team of creating more studies and not taking enough action.
In 2024, a study conducted by Toronto Metropolitan University recommended a single body, arguing that the current system of three was ineffective and inefficient. The three bodies doing doctor recruitment are West Northumberland, Campbellford Memorial Hospital, and Brighton. It is unclear under the county system if there will be a single body or three. This means some taxpayers may be paying twice for doctor recruitment.
Have a listen and you decide who should be doing doctor recruitment.
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Originally aired: July 25, 2025
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