Patients in Renfrew County are expected to see shorter waits for primary care as the Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team approaches a key provincial milestone.
The health team, one of more than 50 across Ontario, serves roughly 80,000 residents and is working under the province’s Primary Care Action Plan, which aims to connect all Ontarians to primary care by 2029.
Officials say more than 72 per cent of those on the provincial wait-list as of Jan. 1, 2025 have now been matched. Locally, over 4,800 residents have gained access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner since March 2025.
Nine new family physicians and two nurse practitioners have joined practices across the region in the past year, with more expected in the coming months.
The province’s target is to clear the list of patients registered before Jan. 1, 2025 by June, a step officials say should significantly reduce wait times, though not eliminate them entirely.
(Richard Evans)
