Nearly 9,500 Peterborough-area residents who had been waiting for primary care have now been cleared from the provincial Health Care Connect waitlist.
The Peterborough Ontario Health Team says all 9,473 residents in Peterborough City and County who were on the waitlist before January 1, 2025, have now been cleared through a coordinated effort involving local family doctors, nurse practitioners and health organizations.
Some residents had been waiting more than four years to be connected with a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
The initiative involved the Peterborough Family Health Team, Peterborough Community Health Centre, Peterborough 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, Victorian Order of Nurses Nurse Practitioner Clinic in Keene and other community health-care providers.
Health Care Connect Care Connectors also participated in the effort.
“Connecting more residents with primary care takes coordination across our entire Peterborough Ontario Health Team community,” said POHT Executive Transformation Lead Connor Kemp.
Kemp said the milestone reflects collaboration between family doctors, nurse practitioners, allied health professionals and other health-system partners.
Officials say access to ongoing primary care can improve preventive care, chronic disease management and timely treatment while reducing pressure on hospital emergency departments.
The work was undertaken as part of Ontario’s Primary Care Action Plan, which has set a goal of connecting every Ontario resident with a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team by 2029.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith called clearing the local waitlist a “monumental achievement” for the region.
While the Peterborough Ontario Health Team does not directly provide patient care, it works with health organizations to coordinate services and identify local priorities.
Officials say work will continue to expand team-based primary care and connect more residents with ongoing care as the region works toward the province’s 2029 target.
