More Canadians gaining access to primary care, even though 5.9M still don’t have any: survey

Data from the OurCare Survey found that an estimated 5.9 million Canadians don’t have a primary care professional like a regular family doctor, nurse practitioner, or primary care team. (CTV News)

A new survey finds that while almost six million Canadians still don’t have primary medical care, access to such services in the country is slowly getting better.

Data from the OurCare Survey found that an estimated 5.9 million don’t have a primary care professional like a regular family doctor, nurse practitioner, or primary care team. That number is down compared to the last survey in 2022, which found 6.5 million didn’t have primary care. That works out to 81 per cent of survey participants, compared to 77 per cent from the 2022 survey.

The survey included responses from 16,299 Canadians and was conducted by St. Michael’s Hospital physician-researcher Dr. Tara Kiran, along with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

In a release, Kiran said she hoped the survey’s results motivate all levels of government in the country to “redouble their efforts to improve access to care and for people in this country to demand better.”

“These findings confirm what physicians and patients across Canada are experiencing daily,” CMA president Dr. Margot Burnell said in the release. “While we’ve made progress, too many Canadians still face unacceptable barriers to primary care. We can do better. We know the solutions. Access to care for all Canadians is a realistic and achievable goal now.”

The survey also looked at issues like timely access to care, diversity in staff and overall satisfaction in how the health-care system is working.

It found that of those who attempted to book an urgent appointment, only 37 per cent of survey respondents with access to primary care were able to do so the same or next day.

It also examined how satisfied survey participants were with the diversity found in health-care services, and the findings were mostly positive. Sixty-four per cent of those surveyed with access to primary care found that diversity of the community was reflected in their clinic staff.

However, when it came to overall satisfaction with the functionality of health care in the country, the survey reported that only 28 per cent of people in Canada were satisfied or very satisfied with how the primary care system is working.

Are you with or without access to primary care like a family doctor, nurse or primary care team? Are you happy or unhappy with how the health-care system in Canada works overall? Do you see yourself reflected in clinical care teams?

CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.

Share your story by emailing us at [e-mail] with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.