Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Believes Staffing Shortages In Health Care Will Be Addressed In The Future

by Bob Montgomery

Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Andrew Williams says the staff shortage in healthcare is on the front burner now.

Everyone from education organizers to the general public is now very keenly aware of the issue and it's in the news almost every day, from the shortage of physicians to access to other services. It's very much on the agenda says Williams. “We're starting to see an increase in enrolments, medical school, nursing school and others, which I think is positive.”

The next step is taking a look at the bigger picture. “What we have yet to do, which I think is really important, is do a very detailed population-based assessment of what we need and where we need people. Because absent of that, we're still going to have areas of the province or the country that don't have equitable access to care.”

Williams suggests when we look at the bigger picture we need to be more thoughtful in how we plan and then how we link back into the education system to make sure that we're taking in the right people and graduating the right people.