Toronto, February 2011
The federal government would be funding $11.3 million over four years to support a project in Ontario that offers new family medicine positions and training opportunities across Canada from 2011. The funding would cover the entire costs for establishing residency positions. The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) is striving to improve access to healthcare for Ontarians in remote and rural communities. Approximately 60 additional third-year family medicine residency positions will be created at Ontario’s six Faculties of Medicine to enhance emergency medicine and enhanced skills, which includes McMaster University, University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, as well as the Northern Ontario School of Medicine at Laurentian University and Lakehead University.
According to Dr. Catharine Whiteside, co-chair person of COU Faculties of Medicine and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, “focusing on specializations such as anesthesia, obstetrics, care of the elderly, palliative care, rural skills, mental health and additions, will be a starting point to support comprehensive family practice in under-served communities.” Hence, with the continuing support from provincial government to improve health care facilities across Ontario, people living in rural communities will be having greater benefits.