The Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT) hopes the day will come when all residents of Peterborough will have a family doctor or primary care provider.
PFHT communications officer Renee MacKenzie shared her thoughts with kawarthaNOW following the recent opening of a new PFHT Health Clinic location for “unattached” patients — those who don’t have a “permanent” family doctor or primary care provider.
“Our biggest hope is that there will be a day when we don’t need the PFHT Health Clinic for unattached patients,” MacKenzie said. “Until then, we hope to continue providing opportunities for newly retired physicians to continue practising in our community, while also attracting new family doctors and retaining recent graduates.”
Earlier this year, the PFHT Health Clinic acquired a new space at 555 George St. N. with additional exam rooms, allowing it to expand appointments for Peterborough city and county residents who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner in Ontario.
The new space is the main location for “unattached services,” while the clinic’s King Street location continues to operate and support more niche services such as well baby clinics.
On Tuesday morning (March 18) at the new George Street location, the PFHT hosted a media event and open house, which MacKenzie said “had a great turnout,” including Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal. PFHT CEO Duff Sprague spoke about the clinic as did Dr. Tehmina Chattha, who also provided tours of the exam rooms.
With the opening of the new clinic space, MacKenzie said the PHFT continues to work to address health care gaps in the community.
“We want the community to know that we will continue to do what we can to advocate for growth in our family health team so we can support all residents in Peterborough city and county,” she noted.
“Furthermore, this clinic offers patient appointments and is not a substitute for having a family doctor. The clinic is an interim solution that provides people with same-day or next-day in-person care by a doctor or nurse practitioner.”
The PFHT Health Clinic is a response to the growing need for health care access among residents of Peterborough city and county who are currently unattached and would otherwise have limited options.
“Despite a base budget that has not increased in many years, we’ve strategically managed to run the clinic within the existing funding and the access clinic physicians have to bill OHIP for their services,” said Sprague in a media release.
“We took a coordinated approach to provide essential care to unattached patients. Our PFHT Health Clinic offers a much less expensive and more appropriate alternative to the only other in-person choice in the area: hospital emergency departments.”
The PFHT said it’s “grateful” for the partners who made the expansion possible. The Peterborough Ontario Health Team has committed to covering the clinic’s rent until September 1. The PFHT’s director of operations and patient services supervisor, as well as the city’s physician recruiter, donated their time to prepare the space through painting, deep cleaning, transporting equipment, and other set-up efforts.
“We also extend our thanks to Whelan’s Floor for donating and installing replacement flooring in part of the clinic, and to Rishor Real Estate Inc. for a 50 per cent rent reduction for the first 12 months.”
The PFHT Health Clinic has achieved significant cost savings for the health care system, according to the release.
“From April 1, 2024, to early March, we estimate $370,804 in savings due to hospital emergency room diversions, and these savings are based on the patient being assessed at the emergency department and do not include any testing procedures or specialist care.”
Additionally, cancer screenings conducted at the clinic not only save costs for the system but also open a door to care for the unattached patient, the PFHT noted.
For more information about both of the PFHT’s health clinics and to book an appointment, visit www.peterboroughfht.com/find-a-provider/pfht-health-clinic. Online booking is available for returning patients.
