Orléans residents who are having trouble finding a family doctor will soon have place where they can go for health care services.

Last week. the Montfort Hospital announced that it plans to create a clinic at the Aline-Chrétien Health Hub on Mer Bleue Road specifically for patients who do not have a family doctor.

This is good news for new residents in Orléans who are having trouble finding a family doctor, as well as existing residents whose family doctor has recently retired or is about to retire and are in need of a new doctor.

Currently, in order to find a family doctor residents must register with the Ontario’s Health Care Connect service, and then wait for a space to open up which can sometime take six to 12 months or even longer, much in the same way that seniors looking for a assisted living must wait for a space in long term care facility.

The Montfort plans to open the new clinic by 2028. In the meantime, residents without a family doctor must wait until a doctor becomes available.

The announcement was immediately applauded by local politicians including Orléans MPP Stephen Blais who has been pushing for better health care service in the area for years.

“This is welcome news and will make a tremendous difference in our community,” says Blais while promising to put the pressure on the current Ford government to fund the proposed new clinic.

According to most recent figures, more than 14,000 Orléans residents are without a family doctor. This includes 2,758 children. Remarkably, that number compares very well to most other parts of the province.

The Montfort Hospital’s Strategic Plan also calls for a drastic improvement in health care services for seniors by taking a proactive, multidisciplinary approach with its health care partners with the goal of serving 80,000 more patients in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario aged 65 and over by 2028.