City of Quinte West buys medical centre to support new doctor recruitment

The City of Quinte West announced today the purchase of the medical building at 149 North Murray Street, formerly the site of the Camomile Medical Centre. In purchasing and owning this property, the City will work with partners to update and make the medical facility available as leased clinic and office space for physicians serving residents in Quinte West. Acquiring this facility, which includes a selection of recently purchased medical equipment, allows the City to support new doctors with well-equipped spaces in which they can build long-term medical practices serving Quinte West.

The development of new spaces for doctors and medical professionals in Quinte West has historically been driven by individual practitioners and the private sector. In recent years, the community has come to experience a significant shortage of doctors available to serve residents. Currently there are more than 4,000 Quinte West residents without a family doctor.

The City has been working with a variety of stakeholders, including the Docs by the Bay Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee, to help remedy this shortage. The City of Quinte West and Municipality of Brighton both offer incentive funding of $100,000 over five years to new doctors that establish medical practices with specified patient rosters and hospital employment in Quinte West. Through these efforts, a lack of suitable medical clinic and office space was identified as a gap to successfully recruiting new doctors to the area. Acquiring the medical building at 149 North Murray Street gives Quinte West a competitive advantage in its recruitment efforts.

“The purchase of 149 North Murray Street is expected to make available much-need clinic and office spaces that will help with attracting and recruiting new doctors to Quinte West,” says Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison. “The recruitment of doctors and creation of opportunities for medical residents to learn and build foundations in Quinte West are important elements of the City’s efforts to support our healthy, vibrant community.”

This investment demonstrates the City’s commitment to finding creative solutions that assist in filling existing private sector gaps and meet the needs of the community. The assignment of patients to new doctors and nurse practitioners is a service administered by the Province of Ontario. Individuals in need of a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register with Health Care Connect at 1-800-445-1822 or visit ontario.ca/HealthCareConnect. The City does not oversee this service. More information about the new medical space in Quinte West will be shared as the project progresses. 

Last Updated: 2 years ago

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Tel: 613-392-2841   •   economicdevelopment@quintewest.ca