Queen's Park, March 1, 2018 - I rise today to recognize family physician Dr. Sharad Rai, president of the London and District Academy of Medicine and a London West constituent.
Dr. Rai is on the front lines of the health care crisis in my community. At his office at the Hyde Park Medical and Walk-In Clinic, Dr. Rai sees daily the effect of lack of access to primary care, as more and more Londoners seek walk-in treatment because they can’t find a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
He hears regularly about the impact of chronic underfunding on our health care system and he is doing something about it. Last April, on behalf of the London and District Academy of Medicine, he organized a patient health care forum to provide an opportunity for patients and their loved ones to share their health care experiences. The painful stories that were told about people’s inability to access care, their frustration navigating the health care system and their medical conditions that got worse instead of better highlighted the failure of our health care system to respond to Londoners’ health care needs. The stories also revealed the serious consequences of this failure in increased patient suffering and in much higher health care costs down the road.
I am grateful that physicians like Dr. Rai are taking action. Another forum is being organized by the London and District Academy of Medicine on Thursday, April 12. I hope that many Londoners will attend.