Across the province, Ontario’s physicians and physician assistants are working in an increasingly complex and strained health care environment. We continue to hear directly from you about the realities of care delivery, including capacity pressures, wait times, staffing shortages, fragmented systems, and the moral distress that can arise when patient needs exceed available resources. 

The same dynamic is playing out within our regulatory processes as well. We continue to see an increase in the number of complaints received by the College, many of which reflect the broader strain on the health care system.  

We want to acknowledge these challenges clearly: we understand that many of the pressures you are experiencing are systemic in nature and outside the control of individual clinicians.  

Long wait times, difficulty accessing specialist care, and delays in accessing necessary investigations can create frustration for patients and families navigating a complex system under pressure. While these concerns are understandable, they relate to system-level issues and resource availability, not individual clinician care and conduct.

In light of this reality, CPSO has refined our intake processes to more quickly identify and appropriately reroute concerns that are system-related. Where matters fall outside of the College’s mandate to regulate clinician care and conduct, they will be redirected accordingly at an early stage. 

Our goal is to ensure that our processes are focused on issues within a physician’s control. Each concern we receive is assessed individually, taking into account the circumstances in which care was delivered, including relevant system constraints. This ensures that our decisions are grounded in the realities of current practice while maintaining our core obligation to serve in the public interest.  

We will continue to listen to your feedback, apply a thoughtful approach to our work, and make improvements where possible while working within the confines of the Ontario Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. I want to thank you for the care and commitment you continue to provide to your patients in this very challenging time. 

Nancy Whitmore, MD, FRCSC, MBA, ICD.D 
Registrar and CEO