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stouffville suntribune thursday jan 8 2004 5 situation can only get worse from page 1 finance a competing clinic fingerpointing over the clin ic dominated municipal elec tions last fall and resulted in mayor rob grossi defeating incumbent jeff holec its been a huge issue said mr grossi a vocal opponent of the health councils actions at the end of the day the problem is bringing health care to an underserviced communi ty weve been abandoned by higher levels of government when it comes to health care and the issue has landed on our doorstep meanwhile physicians in whitchurchstouffville are warning of a drastic family doc tor shortage with the population expect ed to expand the situation can only get worse theres a definite shortage said dr donald petrie who is not accepting new patients you cant look after the ones youre committed to you cant look after the whole world theres a limit you cant look after the ones you re committed to you cant look after the whole world theres a limit dr petrie said the govern ment needs to increase the sup ply of doctors but acknowl edged theres no quick solution its a bad situation but we do the best we can mayor sue sherban is estab lishing a task force of politicians community leaders and repre sentatives from the towns med ical community to develop a doctor recruitment strategy like every community thats growing doctors need to grow dr donald petrie stouffville physician says government must increase number of doctors with it she said we dont really have the space right now for physicians doctors want a turnkey opera tion where they can walk in and have the facilities ready to begin practising we need somebody to come to the table and build a facility that would be physician friendly to make sure the situation in georgina isnt repeated ms sherban acknowledged the town will have to walk a fine line between attracting new doctors and ensuring current physicians dont feel alienated rural areas arent the only communities hoping to improve health care despite expansion projects at yorks three existing hospitals vaughan residents and commu nity leaders are calling on queens park to approve a new hospital for their city demands for improved health care arent limited to york the issue is highlighted by ontarios doctor shortage the ontario medical association estimates almost 1600 doctors are needed imme diately to care for the more than 1 million residents across the province who cant get a family physician this shortage is expected to increase to between 2400 and 3400 physicians by 2010 depending on the degree of gov ernment action a report from the association warns ontarios current physician shortage is projected to almost double within 10 years as a result it is anticipated that betweenl4 million and 2 mil lion ontarians will be seriously hindered in their access to med ical treatment during last falls provincial election premier dalton mcguinty promised to improve access to health care by estab lishing 150 family health teams including doctors nurses phar macists arid other health care professionals according to mr mcguinty the teams will ensure patients have roundtheclock health care provide patients with com prehensive care and ease line ups at emergency rooms thornhill mpp mario raccp serves on a legislative health and social issues committee and expects the committee to begin addressing the doctor shortage within days we need somebody to come to the table and build a facility that would be physician friendly the focus will be on increas ing medical school spaces removing barriers preventing foreign doctors from practising and providing incentives for physicians to work in underser viced areas hopefully in a few years we can start providing enough addi tional doctors to provide the services we need he said doctors are needed and expect ed in one of the wealthiest provinces in the world you dont have to be on the street are you 1519 years old and need a place to stay while you sort things out the pulse total fitness centre the best equipped fitness club in stouffville guaranteed pathways contact us at pathways at 905 4717877 this message brought to you as a community serv ice of the economist suntntjune new years special new members only new location 6000 sqft the most experienced fitness trainers in the business tired of working out with no results come to the pulse free fitness evaluations and programs 67 edward st stouffville 9056429195 exclusively aerobics fitriess for women by women 86 ringwood dr unit 221 stouffville v- if v- pilates fusion pilates incorporating the use of flexbands stability balls and yoga principles for the ultimate in core conditioning monday 9 15 am pilates wednesday 545 pm pilates fusion thursday 915 am pilates fusion 12 week sessions starting the week of january 1204 cost75gst for more information call 9058871248 the stouffville country market would