Two new doctors are going to start taking patients in Wiarton and Sauble Beach.
Dr. Amir Farhoud and Dr.Mylash Mylvaganam are taking patients at their new practices in the community.
A local physician recruitment group called the Wiarton and Sauble MD Quest says Dr. Farhoud will be accepting a limited number of patients to his Wiarton practice who currently do not have a primary care physician and who live in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula or Georgian Bluffs.
In addition to his primary care clinic which is estimated to start February 4th, Dr. Farhoud will also work in the Emergency Department and inpatient care unit at the Wiarton Hospital.
Dr. Mylash Mylvaganam will be practicing as part of the Sauble Family Health Team. His estimated start date is January 21st and he will be accepting patients in a primary care capacity who currently do not have a primary care physician and who live in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula or surrounding area.
Cory Dobbin, Chair of the Sauble and Wiarton MD Quest tells Bayshore Broadcasting News the doctors are relocating to the region from large urban centres south of Grey Bruce.
“They’re coming up and joining us through the Practice Ready Ontario program,” says Dobbin who explains, it’s a program for physicians who have been trained outside of Canada take a training program in Ontario which is overseen by a team of doctors for a period of time, and then working in communities where they have a year of oversight as well by a local doctor to ensure Canadian standards are met.
“It’s an initiative by the government of Ontario and the Ministry of Health so that we can take advantage of physicians that are trained outside of Canada that want to continue in their field,” says Dobbin.
“From MD Quest’s perspective we’re just excited to be able to add the two physicians to the teams that we have.” He credits a group of local doctors, noting, “They’re coming here based on the team of doctors they’re going to be working with and we have two fantastic teams in the community.”
Dobbin says both new physicians are planning on building full practices which he says will put a ‘very nice dent’ in the number of people needing a doctor in the area. He estimates there are around 3,700 people in the area who need a primary care physician.
The Sauble and Wiarton MD Quest is made up of a group of local volunteers. Dobbin explains, “It is an extension that’s out of the recruitment committee that used to be a committee of council for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula.” He adds, their group looks to recruit, noting “We just get the name out there a little bit. We have social media accounts,we go to very select shows or a university will host various events for us to get face time with ether medical students or residents. So we’re just trying to get the name of Wiarton, Sauble, Town of South Bruce Peninsula out there to medical practitioners. We also do some selective advertisements nationwide, again just to get the name out there because we have a lot to offer from a community perspective but people have to know we’re here.”
MD quest says if you are wanting to become a patient contact the Sauble Family Health Team for a patient registration form by email at saublefht@gmail.com or by calling 519-422-2665.
If you currently do not have a primary care physician and live in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula or Georgian Bluffs, you can reach Dr Farhoud’s office by leaving a message at 519-534-2268 ext 228. They say the office will return your call within five business days.