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By Maurice Brenner Deputy Mayor/Regional Councillor Ward 1 Pickering When we think of growth, the topic of infrastructure comes to mind. But infrastructure goes well beyond what’s physical which is why this weeks column will focus on how Durham Region is facing a Health Care Crisis caused by a lack of Family Physicians. During the pandemic, we got our first glance at what it was like to not have direct ability to access your family doctor followed by the virtual doctor. Then post pandemic we thought things would go back to normal, but it couldn’t as increasing numbers of our Doctors faced burnout, retirement and an inability to keep up with increasing pressures of growth. Today, 24.3% of Durham residents do not have access to a family doctor. Durham needs 145 new Family Physicians. When we put the City of Pickering under the microscope 25.2% of residents do not have access to a family doctor equaling a shortage of 19 Family Physicians. But Pickering is not alone, at this weeks Durham Regional Committee of the Whole, the Durham Physician Engagement Team reported similar alarming trends across the Region in every Municipality. Adding to the problem is a lack of Family Health Teams with only 2 across the entire Region with one in Pickering and one in Scugog. In an effort to address this crisis Durham and all 8 lower tier Municipalities need a coordinated approach for recruitment and need to band together to pressure the Province of Ontario to create and fund more Family Health Teams To learn more about our Doctor Shortage and the recommendations for moving forward check out Report #2024-COW-2 available on the Durham Region Website and watch for this item appearing on the agendas of your lower tie Municipality.