Ford touts expansion of training opportunities for Ontario medical school students

The Ontario government is funding 100 undergraduate medical school spots and 154 postgraduate medical training positions that prioritize Ontario residents, Premier Doug Ford said Thursday at McMaster University in Hamilton.

The government will spend $33 million to add the training capacity, in an effort to help revitalize the province's overwhelmed healthcare system. 

The investment was part of this year's provincial budget announcement, which took place last week.

On Thursday, Ford called it, "the largest expansion of our medical-school system in a decade." 

The new undergrad spots will be created this year, while the postgraduate positions will be available starting next year, according to information released following the event.

"We know that the status quo is no longer acceptable," said Ford, surrounded by several members of his caucus in a cramped room in the university's medical building.

"One of the things I hear all the time from families is that a lot of students are having to leave the province for medical school… because they can't find a residency spot right here in Ontario.

"Meanwhile students from other countries are learning here but then they return home. I find that unacceptable."

The new spots are in addition to 160 undergraduate and 295 postgraduate medical training seats announced last year, the government says.

"Training more doctors here in Ontario is part of our plan to build a strong Ontario that is supporting people today while laying a strong foundation for the future," added finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, who was present at the announcement, alongside health minister and deputy premier Sylvia Jones, Flamborough-Glanbrook member of provincial parliament Donna Skelly and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden.

The announcement was welcome news to Dr. Paul O'Byrne, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster. 

"By helping us train more physicians, we are helping to ensure that Ontarians have access to a doctor when they need care and helping to build a more sustainable health-care system in our region," he said.

Ford applauds nurse recruitment while gap remains in Hamilton

Ford referenced long waits for surgeries, as well as people having to travel long distances to seek medical care as among the problems plaguing the system.

When he did mention staffing issues — a persistent problem at Hamilton hospitals and beyond — it was to list how many new nurses and doctors have been recruited to work in the province.

"Since 2018, over 60,000 – I'm going to repeat that, over 60,000 – new nurses and nearly 8,000 new doctors have registered to work in Ontario," he said. "In fact, last year was a record-breaking year for new nurses in Ontario with over 12,000 new nurses registered and ready to work and another 30,000 nurses studying at a college or university."

As of January, Hamilton Health Sciences had more than 1,500 vacant positions, including 700 unfilled nursing positions. In September 2021, there were a total of 750 vacant positions in that hospital system. 

The problem of nurses leaving the industry extends across Canada. According to Statistics Canada data, the number of vacant nursing jobs in Canada jumped from 5,810 in 2015 to 28,710 in 2022.