As Francophones across Ontario celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day in the province, the Alliance for Healthier Communities continues to advocate for Francophone health and stands with other advocates and allies across the province.
Ontario is home to over 652,000 Francophones, which makes up 4.6% of the population, including 129,000 Francophones who are members of an ethnocultural community. Francophones have for many years experienced barriers that hinder equitable access to language-concordant and culturally safe primary care. With primary care transformation now underway in Ontario, the time is right to ensure that Francophone health and the disparities people face every day are addressed.
“We are thrilled to see the new French Language Health Planning Centre getting started, including the appointment of its first CEO Dr. Natalie Aubin,” says Sarah Hobbs, CEO of the Alliance. “The Alliance is ready to contribute to its mandate to modernize and improve health-care services and outcomes for Francophones.”
One area for action right now is primary care transformation: Ontario needs a dedicated Francophone primary care attachment process. A targeted and tailored approach that meets the linguistic and cultural needs of Francophones is necessary to ensure meaningful and sustainable primary care attachment, by addressing the barriers that both patients and organizations face.
“To make it happen, Ontario needs to make a separate call for interprofessional teams to increase Francophone attachment.” Says Estelle Duchon, Co-Chair of the Francophone Advisory Committee at the Alliance. “By launching a distinct stream for Francophone primary care expansion, Ontario can allow for focused planning and accountability for Francophone health.”
The Alliance’s Francophone Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the newly established French Language Health Planning Center, is ready to convene and collaborate with ALL primary care organizations serving Francophones across the province to identify where expansion is most urgently needed, and to clear waitlists for family physicians and nurse practitioners as soon as possible.
“We are hoping for 100% attachment for all Ontarians who require French language health services.” Explains Marc Bisson, Co-Chair of the Francophone Advisory Committee. “This could be achieved through the strategic expansion of existing Francophone primary care teams via satellites and access points, and where necessary, the creation of new designated teams in regions where significant gaps exist.”
By establishing regional hubs across the province to centralize intake processes and provide navigation services to ensure Francophone patients are connected to appropriate services close to home, Ontario can ensure barriers are addressed before they have negative impacts on people’s health.
Ontario is moving in the right direction on Francophone health, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Now, let’s take the next important steps together to ensure every Francophone can get linguistically and culturally appropriate care, no matter where they live in Ontario.