Burned-out doctors mean small Manitoulin Island hospitals pay more to attract locums or close ER
Feb 03, 2025
The family doctor shortage in northeastern Ontario has caused some emergency rooms to close, but what may be less well known to the public is how many others are frequently on the brink of going dark and being shuttered due to a lack of physicians.
Hospital measures to avoid closure include increasing the fees to attract locums — temporary, visiting doctors from other areas — some of whom are being offered $250 an hour to cover emergency shifts.
Locum remuneration depends on a complex balance of contributions from provincial programs that relate to hours, demands and levels of care, and, increasingly, financial incentives for rural and remote work.
In northeastern Ontario, ERs in communities like Thessalon and on St. Joseph Island have temporarily closed in the past year, forcing patients on the north shore of Lake Huron to go further down the road for urgent care.