Newmarket-Aurora— Ontario is connecting more people to primary care in their communities by increasing access to primary care teams across the province, including in Newmarket-Aurora. This includes increasing the number of nurse practitioners across Ontario to make it faster and easier for people to access primary care when they need it, closer to home.
“I am honoured to announce this investment to help expand primary care teams so that the residents of Newmarket-Aurora can choose to stay in their homes for longer as they age or are able to receive care closer to home” MPP Gallagher Murphy said. “It is critical to support people of all ages who require care at home, in school, or in their community, and that’s why Ontario is increasing access to services in our community of Newmarket-Aurora through Your Health and opening the pathways to book or take an appointment virtually, to ensure hospital and long-term beds are available to those who need it most.”
To strengthen the health care workforce and ensure care is there for people when and where they need it, the province is adding 150 more education seats for nurse practitioners starting in 2023-2024, bringing the total number of new seats to 350 each year. Expanded access to education opportunities for nurses will also be provided by adding up to 500 registered practical nurse and 1,000 additional registered nurse education seats in 2023-2024. This is in addition to the 1,500 nursing education spots added in 2022-2023.
“This Nursing Week, May 8-14, I want to applaud nurses across Ontario for the invaluable role they play in providing connected and convenient care across this province,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We are building the health care workforce by increasing education spots for nurses in all regions of Ontario and will continue to invest in programs to train, recruit, and retain more nurses as we build a stronger, more resilient health care system.”
In the region, the government is investing:
- $41,900 to Southlake Hospital Family Health Teams to assist with rental costs;
- $84,100 to Southlake Hospital Family Health Teams for mental health and addictions services;
- $84,100 to Aurora-Newmarket Family Health Teams.
To improve access to primary care in areas of greatest need and help bridge the gap in accessing interprofessional primary care for vulnerable, marginalized, and people without a primary care provider, Ontario is expanding and creating up to 18 new interprofessional primary care teams. Ontario will call on primary care providers and organizations such as Family Health Teams, Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics, Indigenous Primary Health Care Organizations, and Community Health Centres to begin the application process.
Growing interprofessional primary care teams, supporting mental health and increasing education opportunities for health human resources in every region will ensure that people can get the care they need right in their own communities.