Kingston offers clinics up to $100K for programs to boost patient rosters

Kingston, Ont., is offering local clinics up to $100,000 for projects that will increase their patient rosters in a bid to connect more residents with primary care.

The city has set aside millions in recent years to attract new physicians, but the number of people without a family doctor has stubbornly remained around 30,000.

Now officials are trying a new tactic — offering funding to help existing clinics expand.

Applications are officially open for the Primary Care Clinic Expansion Grants, which will provide a one-time investment to up to six clinics.

There's one key criteria those clinics must meet, according to Dajana Turkovic, workforce development analyst for the city.

"The goal is for them to take on between 1,000 to 1,200 patients," she said. "We're hopeful [that will] make a really solid dent into the wait list."

Funds can be used for technology or staffing

The funds can be used for all sorts of initiatives, from covering the cost of technology to hiring more health-care staff and administrative support to tackle paperwork.

Turkovic said another important aspect of the program is that clinics must show how their project and increased roster size will be sustainable beyond the grant.

"The end goal of this project is that, by the end of it, somewhere between 6,000 and 7,200 people have a doctor," she said.

Dr. Veronica Legnini is a second-generation family physician in Kingston and was part of the consultations that led to the program's creation.

Traditionally, the methods for tackling patient backlogs have focused on recruiting new doctors rather than retaining existing physicians or expanding clinics, Legnini said.

She praised the city for thinking "outside the box" with its new initiative.

Dr. Veronica Legnini is a family physician in Kingston and was part of the consultations that led to the city's new grant program for primary care clinics. She says the funding will help retain doctors and expand their rosters. (Supplied by Veronica Legnini)

Boosting staffing and adding new technology, Legnini said, will free up doctors so they can focus on seeing patients.

"For every 10 minutes I spend with a patient on average, I'm spending 10 minutes on paperwork," she said, suggesting a medical scribe program that takes notes as one example of a project the grants could cover.

The doctor said the clinic she works at plans to apply for a grant, adding she thinks it's a "fantastic idea."

"I'm thrilled to be a part of it, whether or not our grant application is successful, because it's going to help all of us," said Legnini.

A 'dire' need for doctors

While health care is a provincial responsibility, fierce competition to attract and retain doctors has forced many Ontario municipalities to offer increasingly large financial incentives to compete.

Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson called it "madness" during a January meeting when council voted to add another $1 million to the 2024 budget for doctor recruitment.

"Do you know where this is going? We're going to be spending more and more for less and less," he said at the time.

Hundreds waited in line outside a Kingston clinic in March for a chance at a family doctor. (Jamie Corbett)

The desperate need for doctors in Kingston was illustrated in March, when hundreds of people — some of whom camped out overnight — lined up at one clinic that was accepting new patients.

While the situation locally is "dire," Turkovic said she's hopeful the grants will make a difference.

"I'm really excited to see what people come up with," she said.