Meaford is working on a new rural healthcare policy to address various needs.
Council approved a motion from Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney to start the process of developing a policy during a meeting on Monday.
The policy will aim at assessing the current gaps in healthcare service in local rural areas, work with provincial and federal health authorities and healthcare providers to improve access as well as quality of care, advocate for additional funding and resources to support local healthcare services, and look into partnerships for innovative healthcare delivery models like mobile clinics.
Staff are being directed to consult with healthcare providers, as well as residents and other municipalities and come back with a report to council, including recommendations for a policy within six months.
When asked if six months is an acceptable timeline, CAO Kymm Buckham says while this topic has been discussed over several years, she does not think they have ever pulled the resources together to submit a comprehensive report.
“This is also at a policy level, not at implementation, so we can’t solve the problems in six months, I just want to set that. I do think that there are a number of municipalities that are looking at these policies and we can learn a lot from them,” says Buckham.
The motion says several Ontario municipalities have developed their own rural healthcare policies to address various needs including physician recruitment and mental health services.
Buckham adds they have also met with several local doctors about the potential policy.
“I think getting the policy portion together within the six months is certainly reasonable based on the number of stakeholders that are very engaged,” says Buckham.