No family doctor in Apsley
Virtual doctor to help doctorless patients
APSLEY – A temporary solution for Apsley residents left without a family doctor since the June retirement of Dr. Wagdy Rayes isn’t ideal, but will help greatly until a replacement can be found, says Peterborough Family Health Team executive director Lori Richey.
The organization announced plans Tuesday for a telemedicine service that would provide a virtual doctor in response to mounting concerns in the village. Several details of the plan still need to be worked out, officials said.
“It is Peterborough Family Health Team’s responsibility to ensure all residents of the city and county of Peterborough have access to adequate primary health care services,” Richey stated. “We continue to search for a permanent family doctor to take over the primary care for patients, but in the meantime we need a solution. People cannot go without access to care.”
The temporary clinic would allow patients to get prescriptions filled and obtain referrals for specialists, for example, Richey explained.
That approach would also enrol patients and smoothly transition them over to a new family doctor once recruited and that practice is up and running, officials stated.
Finding a permanent doctor remains of “utmost” importance to the organization, Richey said. The team’s recruitment efforts include advertising, word-of-mouth marketing and reaching out to medical students by attending three recruitment fairs so far this year.
On its side are incentives for recruiting physicians to small towns, including $90,400 in funding from the Ministry of Health’s Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Inititative if the doctor agrees to work in the community for four years, Richey said.
Other incentives include reasonable rent at the township office in the village and, be a part of the team, having access to allied health services already in place, she added.
“The Peterborough Family Health Team has supported our community in terms of providing basic primary care to our residents,” North Kawartha Township Mayor Rick Woodcock stated. “I have no doubt that once the pieces are aligned for the telemedicine service, our town will once again have access to the care we require.”
Apsley residents can access health care through the Lakefield VON Nurse Practitioner Clinic that is open Wednesdays and Thursdays at 150 Strickland St. in Lakefield. Residents can book an appointment by calling 705-6514866.
Those in need of urgent health care or services are asked to go to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre at 1 Hospital Dr.
The Nurse Practitioner Hub at 183 Burleigh St. in Apsley can only provide care to enrolled patients and is currently at capacity, officials said.
The hub was created when patients could not join the established family practice.
However, once a new family doctor is recruited, the nurse practitioner and all enrolled patients will be absorbed by the new doctor at a new wholesome practice, officials stated.
NOTE: For more information on the Peterborough Family Health Team, call 705-740-8020, go to www.peterboroughfht.com online or visit at 185 King St., Unit 500.