Thessalon ER closures prompt physician recruitment drive

An undated exterior photo of the Thessalon hospital site. (Cory Nordstrom/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Residents of Thessalon, Ont., have grown accustomed to seeing their hospital’s emergency department go dark, with full 24-hour closures becoming commonplace in the North Shore community due to a persistent shortage of physicians.

By week’s end, the emergency department at Thessalon Hospital will have been closed for 48 hours total, having only resumed operations Saturday morning. All closures are attributed to a lack of doctors available to staff the facility.

The situation reflects a broader healthcare crisis in the community, which has been without permanent family physicians for years.

“We’ve been without any physicians at our clinic since 2022,” said Thessalon Mayor Jordan Bird.

“So, we’ve been in a bit of a health care crisis... Our clinic’s been operating solely on locums here for the last four years.”

The lack of permanent doctors has sparked frustration among residents, highlighted by a rally held in the community nearly a year ago.

To address the service gap, the municipalities of Thessalon and Huron Shores have joined forces on an initiative to recruit a physician through the Practice Ready Ontario program. The program allows internationally trained doctors to work under the supervision of local physicians before establishing their own practices in Canada.

Tim Vine, president and CEO of the North Shore Health Network, acknowledged the challenges facing recruitment efforts in the community.

“I think the barrier for Thessalon – it’s a bit intimidating to be the first physician going in back into that community because, of course, everybody is going to want to be rostered to you naturally,” Vine said.

“I don’t blame anybody for that. So, I think if we can get a pro, Practice Ready Ontario candidate in there for return of service, we know we’ve got stability for three years because that’s the return of service obligation.”

With no family doctors currently practising in Thessalon, the incoming physician would rely on expertise from doctors in nearby Bruce Mines. The two municipalities are raising funds to cover the additional working hours required for that supervision.

Thessalon is looking to invest up to $40,000 into the initiative and has called on community members to support the effort through donations.

Bird said the supervision costs for the eight-to-12-month period are expected to reach approximately $60,000.

“So the two physicians from the neighbouring clinic are going to come and provide some oversight,” Bird said. “So, it will be outside of their scope of work; that’s going to be a lot of extra time for them to cover their costs. We’re looking at, around the $60,000 mark, for 12, eight months of oversight.”

Despite the challenges, Bird noted there is growing excitement in Thessalon after one physician recently toured the community. Officials hope to attract more candidates in the coming months.

“Best case scenario would be June 1st, that they’d be starting,” Bird said.

“So, there would be funds going out by June 1st. So, time is of the essence to make sure it’s fully funded.”