
Desperately seeking a family doctor. What a striking scene in one small Ontario town says about a brewing crisis.
A queue for 500 openings for a new family doctor in Walkerton leads to elation and disappointment. Experts say it’s a warning for the province.
Jan. 18, 2025

WALKERTON, Ont.—The first patients to sign up with Walkerton’s newest family doctor leave the Royal Canadian Legion with a smile or whoop of joy.
They had left their houses well before dawn and endured hours of waiting in the cold and blowing snow, each hoping they had lined up early enough to get a spot.
Now safely signed up, the patients clutch their intake forms and breathe a sigh of relief. They are the lucky ones. Hundreds more still stand in line — parents with young children, older folks with canes or walkers, people with diabetes, asthma and heart problems — all desperate for a family physician.
“I did it. I have a doctor,” said Katy Scott, who left her hometown of Tiverton at 5:50 a.m. to drive 40 kilometres through high winds and snow squalls to line up outside the legion. Her family doctor retired last year, and Scott, 55 and a cancer survivor, struggled to find consistent care.
With just 500 openings for the new family doctor at the South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Scott was elated to have made the patient list. But she worried for those who will be turned away.
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