HAMILTON — As part of the province’s $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in Ontario to a publicly funded family doctor or primary care team, the Ontario government is investing $834,200 this year to connect 2,400 people with primary care services in Greater Hamilton. This investment is part of the government’s plan to connect 300,000 more people to primary care this year.

The Greater Hamilton Health Network, in partnership with Primary Care Network Partners, are developing a strategy to connect local individuals without a primary care provider to a primary care team. With this new funding from the Ministry of Health, the Hamilton Family Health Team Inc. will lead this effort for the L0R postal code area. Their Attachment Team will manage outreach and match patients to care teams including nurses, psychiatrists, pharmacists, dietitians, mental health counsellors and other allied health professionals, based on location and preference.

“Our government is working with local partners to connect more people in Hamilton to primary care services,” said Neil Lumsden, MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.  “This new provincial funding will give community health providers such as the Hamilton Family Health Team, the kickstart needed to ensure that everyone in our city has the healthcare services and support that they deserve.”

Hamilton’s Family Health Team is being funded through a recent call for proposals focused on communities—identified by postal code—with the highest number of residents not connected to primary care, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist. Each successful team through this call for proposals has established a plan and demonstrated readiness to achieve significant progress within a year.

“We thank the government of Ontario for providing funding to connect more people in the L0R community to comprehensive, team-based primary care,” said Melissa McCallum, Executive Director, Greater Hamilton Health Network. “It is critical for individuals and families to have consistent access to a care team they know and trust. This is just the beginning of a broader plan to ensure everyone across the Greater Hamilton area can count on timely, connected, and compassionate care—right where they live.”

This investment is part of the Primary Care Action Plan which aims to add over 300 new primary care teams across the province. This includes $235 million in 2025-26 that will in part, support over 130 new and expanded primary care teams across the province. “We are continuing to build on our government’s record investments, which have helped secure Ontario the highest rate of access to a regular health-care provider in the country,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of
Health. “We are protecting Ontario’s health-care system and people’s access to convenient care by funding new and expanded primary care teams across the province, helping connect everyone in Ontario to a primary care provider.”

Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to grow the province’s highly skilled health care workforce and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care closer to home for generations to come.