TORONTO, September 4, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - With the official start of the provincial election set to begin on September 7th, Ontario's doctors are ramping up efforts to ensure that health care is a priority. Doctors from across the province are sending letters to their local candidates and engaging local media to remind them that health care is the number one issue for voters.
"Health care is an issue that affects each and every Ontarian. As front line health care providers, Ontario's doctors know what is needed to improve our health care system for our patients and to make it viable for the future." - Stewart Kennedy, MD, President of the Ontario Medical Association
Polling conducted on behalf of the OMA revealed that 9 in 10 Ontarians believe that health care is the most important issue. At the recent annual conference held by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, municipal leaders from across Ontario also chose health care as the number one issue that political parties should focus on.
Ontario's doctors have been very active in the lead up to the election by promoting a number of key issues in their platform, "Better care. Healthier patients. A stronger Ontario." Ontario's doctors have called for improvements to health care services for patients and their families dealing with mental illness and addiction, the expansion of electronic medical records to 5,000 more physicians by 2015, and to fight childhood obesity by requiring fast food chains to list calorie contents on menu boards and by mandating physical activity in our high schools.
"Local doctors have solutions to local health care challenges and should be included in health care discussions. We hope that political parties and local candidates commit to work with Ontario's doctors to improve patient care." - Stewart Kennedy, MD, President of the Ontario Medical Association
To learn more about what Ontario's doctors are recommending, please visit www.oma.org
