The Chatham-Kent Family Health Team will be down one family physician in Wallaceburg.
“Dr. (Muhammad) Afzal has announced the closing of his family practice at the Wallaceburg location of the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team,” Heather Brooks, executive director of the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team, told the Sydenham Current.
“Dr. Afzal is changing the focus of his medical career from Family Medicine to the sub-specialty of Pain Management.”
Brooks said patients are encouraged to register with Health Care Connect.
“Health Care Connect refers Ontarians who don’t have a family physician to a family health care provider who may be accepting new patients,” Brooks said.
“Unattached patients can call 1-888-447-4468 or go online to ontario.ca/healthcareconnect to register with the program.”
Brooks added work is on-going by the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team to recruit family physicians.
“Recruitment strategies include, working in partnership with the newly formed Chatham-Kent Physician Recruitment and Retention Taskforce, which was made possible through funding granted by municipal council during the 2019-2020 fiscal year,” Brooks said.
“The taskforce was developed with community partners that have an interest in family physician recruitment including our local family health teams, (Chatham-Kent FHT, Thamesview FHT and Tilbury FHT), the C-K Community Health Centre, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, the Erie St Clair LHIN, HealthForceOntario and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.”
Brooks said family physician recruitment activities include: a new family physician recruitment website launched in October 2020 (www.physicianswantedck.com), advertising in national family physician journals, attending job fairs (that are currently virtual due to COVID 19), along with working with the Family Medicine residents and students training in the community.
“Earlier this year the C-KFHT welcomed Dr. Jasmine Dhaliwal at the Chatham office and Dr. Andrew Lanz-O’Brient to the Blenheim office,” Brooks said.
In a letter obtained by the Sydenham Current, Dr. Afzal’s medical practice will close effective January 31, 2021.
For more information about the Chatham-Kent Family Health Team, click here.
