You won't believe how many doctors we actually have

Good morning from the Forest City — yes, the other London. The one that actually matters to us. Let's get into it.

You know how it is, everyone here in London has a story about trying to find a family doctor, right? It feels like an impossible task, a real EOA issue sometimes, trying to navigate that system. We all talk about the doctor shortage like it’s a foregone conclusion. Well, look, I’ve been covering this city for a decade, and I’m telling you, this latest bit of news from our local health-care system has really thrown me for a loop, and honestly, it should for you too.

The reality? There are nearly 12,000 open spots for new patients with primary care providers in London and the surrounding region. Yes, you heard that correctly. Twelve thousand. And yet, almost nobody is actually using the provincial system designed to match them up with a doctor. It’s a classic London head-scratcher, isn’t it? We've got this resource, this solution to a problem we constantly complain about, and it's sitting there, largely untouched.

### Why Aren't Folks Connecting?

So, what's going on here? Why isn't this system, Health Care Connect, actually doing what it's supposed to?

* **Awareness:** Many Londoners probably don't even know it exists, or how it works. We’re used to asking friends or just showing up at walk-ins.

* **Perception:** There's a deeply ingrained belief that there *are* no doctors, so why bother trying? It's a tough narrative to shift, even with numbers like these.

* **Accessibility:** Is the process straightforward enough? For folks in Old South or over near Fanshawe College, is it easy to navigate the online forms and phone calls?

This isn't just about numbers; it's about how we, as a community, engage with our own healthcare. Imagine if even half those spots were filled. It would fundamentally change the conversation around healthcare access here in the Forest City. We talk about London being the biggest small town, and sometimes that means we rely on word-of-mouth more than official channels. But on something as crucial as a family doctor, maybe it's time we start looking at the tools we actually have at our disposal. This could make a real difference, from downtown near Victoria Park right out to the edges of Lambeth.

Want to dive deeper into this? The crew on the morning show are always digging into the big local stories. Catch them live at mornings.live.