According to a recent survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), a family doctor shortage is causing difficulties for Canadians in accessing primary care. The survey revealed that half of Canadians either do not have a primary care physician or struggle to secure timely appointments. Surprisingly, one in five Canadians stated that they don’t have a family doctor at all.
Even for those fortunate enough to have a family doctor, the struggle continues. Around 29 percent of respondents reported difficulty in getting an appointment, while 37 percent said it took a few days to get an appointment. However, 15 percent claimed they could see their family doctor immediately.
Among Canadians without a family physician, the survey showed that 26 percent have given up their search, and 38 percent have been searching for more than a year. This highlights the urgency of addressing this issue.
Dr. Kathleen Ross, president of the CMA, emphasized the importance of primary care and the consequences of its unavailability. Delayed diagnosis, navigating a complex healthcare system, and patients having to sort out their medical concerns on their own are some of the challenges faced.
The survey also highlighted the burnout among family physicians, with 62 percent reporting negative effects on their mental health due to increased workload and lack of work-life balance.
A separate survey by the CMA in April 2023 revealed that more than one in five Canadians, estimated to be around 6.5 million people, do not have a regular family physician or nurse practitioner. The shortage of family doctors varies across the country, with Ontario having the lowest percentage of respondents lacking a family doctor (13 percent), while in Quebec, the number doubles to 26 percent. Atlantic Canada faces significant challenges, with the majority of respondents from New Brunswick (61 percent), Nova Scotia (67 percent), and Newfoundland and Labrador (58 percent) reporting difficulties in accessing a family doctor or getting an appointment.
Recent immigrants to Canada also face obstacles in accessing family doctors compared to long-term residents. Individuals who have been in Canada for less than five years reported a 44 percent lack of access to a family doctor, while this number dropped to 14 percent for those who have been residents for over two decades.
Addressing the healthcare system’s deficiencies requires more than just funding, according to Dr. Ross. She acknowledged the belief among Canadians that money plays a part in fixing the broken system, but it is not the sole solution. Structural issues within the system need to be addressed, along with other priorities such as adequate staffing in emergency departments, reducing the mental health strain on healthcare workers, and reducing wait-lists for family doctors and surgeries.
Streamlining the process for physicians to work in Canada from other jurisdictions could be part of the solution. The CMA is actively working on enhancing physician mobility across the country to address staffing challenges, particularly in rural and remote areas.
The survey provided valuable insights into Canadians’ views on the healthcare system and coincided with the CMA’s 2023 summit in Ottawa. The summit focused on addressing the physician shortage, the balance between public and private healthcare, and systemic racism within the system.
The online survey was conducted from August 1-8, 2023, among a representative sample of 5,010 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The margin of error for a probability sample of this size is +/- 1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey was self-commissioned and jointly funded by the Angus Reid Institute and the CMA.
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