In Kingston, Ontario, Anne Bradley is on a quest to find a new family doctor after her previous one retired in 2017. As a cancer survivor, Bradley turned to Health Care Connect (HCC), the province’s centralized waitlist, for assistance. Two years later, she was matched with a physician in Kemptville, 140 kilometers away. However, when that doctor reduced their roster, Bradley found herself back on the waitlist, expressing skepticism about the system’s effectiveness.
The purpose of HCC is to maintain a centralized list of Ontarians in need of a family doctor or nurse practitioner. Ideally, when a spot becomes available at a local clinic, the next person on the list should be assigned to it. Yet, in Ottawa and Kingston, clinics are managing their own patient rosters, leading to crowds of hopeful individuals vying for limited opportunities.
Anne Bradley questions the logic behind the manual lineup process at clinics when they could simply access the centralized list for referrals. According to Jess Rogers, CEO of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario, while the concept of a centralized list is feasible, some clinics appear unaware of this procedure. Improved communication between the province and primary care clinics is deemed essential to streamline the process.
However, a recent report from Ontario’s Auditor General revealed deficiencies in the HCC system. Out of 178,000 individuals on the waitlist in June 2025, over 108,000 had been waiting for more than a year, indicating that HCC has not fully met the needs of Ontarians. The report also highlighted the lack of consistent planning and oversight by the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health to enhance patient access to primary care providers.
In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Health aims to reduce the HCC waitlist significantly by the following spring as part of a $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan. In Ottawa, plans are in place to accommodate an additional 40,000 patients through new and expanded primary care teams.
As of 2024, an estimated two million people across Ontario lacked a primary care provider. To address this gap, volunteers in Ottawa are actively working to expedite the matching process between patients and clinics through initiatives like the Ottawa Doctors Search Facebook group. Despite facing challenges due to the overwhelming demand for primary care services, these volunteers remain committed to bridging the gap and ensuring citizens receive the care they need.
