Picture this: Late afternoon, people are lined up in the cold—one on crutches—outside a family medicine clinic. This is reality in Kingston. And these people have a family doctor. They’re just lining up for the after-hours clinic.

Kingston had about 25,000 people without a family doctor, as documented in the 2020 Kingston Region Physician Review Report. And now, six doctors are retiring in May, after trying unsuccessfully to find younger ones to take over—that’s another 10,000 people without a family doctor. And as my office confirmed by phoning every clinic, there’s only one walk-in clinic left in all of Kingston.

Kingstonians are scared. Entire families are scrambling to find a new family doctor. Some people have literally phoned every doctor in Kingston. People don’t know where they’re going to get their refills for restricted drugs. They’re losing well-baby checkups. They’re managing chronic conditions on their own. They’re losing follow-ups after hospital and specialist care. They’re standing in hospital hallways waiting for outpatient clinics to triage them.

As the government decides how to handle the primary care crisis, I must remind Minister Jones that the situation in Kingston is particularly acute. We need family doctors in Kingston. It should be designated a high-need community.