"Healthy Babies, Healthy Children" program run by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services is something to look into. Also you can contact the local public health unit and definitely access Ontario's "Early Years Centres" for connecting/support/advice for newborns up to six years of age. Fantastic, free resources. Questions about qualifying, finding care could be answered there. The Early Years Centres are all over Ontario and fantastic. Here is the gov't page with links to "Healthy Babies,Healthy Children", public health units, and Early Years Centres.
Also check out new immigrant gov't sites-they do try to make programs accessible to newcomers-happy to help direct you.
www.children.gov.on.ca/mcys/english/programs/beststart/health/index.asp
Yes the doctor shortage is lousy here. TRUE! Cutbacks to medical programs in the early 1990's(recession) created a lack of qualified doctors graduating 10 years later. Plus retiring doctors, and the gov't not making it easy for foreign trained doctors to practise(WHY we continue to ask!) creates a big problem.
Phone and see who is accepting patients(hospitals and private practices). Ask to be put on a waiting list(do that for many). Every year docs tend to add some patients to make up for those who have died/moved. Also watch carefully because once in a while a new doctor arrives and accepts patients. They fill very quickly. In a week or so. Walk in clinics are not great for care by my doctor's admission(miss alot/no follow up/can't send for tests-thats what my dr's office says). Be better to go to the hospital for most things. You end up going there alot of the time anyway(because needing tests). But for minor things it will do. Originally they were set up to provide relief for emergency room wait times for minor ailments. Now my nurse told me they have been told to advise patients to just GO to emerg for most things as it costs the system twice . Once for a visit to walk-in then either you are sent to the hospital where they can actually do what is required or a visit to your doctor so he can order tests.
Sometimes you can't jump the qeue, other times if you play up your situation and have a sympathetic nurse you may succeed getting a doctor who otherwise isn't really accepting patients. I hate to admit it.
We moved back to a rural area last year where there are only a few doctors with astounding numbers of patients. I called around. Because my old doctor was still within driving distance(under an hour) I was put on the low priority list for new patients. Maybe within 1 year I would get a call I was told. At first when they thought I was completely without a doctor and had moved from afar I was told I would have been accepted or put at the top of the list. I happened to walk in to my old doctors office spur of the moment (hadn't been back in 20 years), told them truthfully I have a family doc, and I was looking for acceptance for my entire family-and didn't expect to be high priority. I was told yes the next day! Apparently 3 seniors had died the prior week in the local nursing home and they were all this dr's patients. So, you never know. Having little ones, esp a newborn I think would help your case findinga doctor more quickly. They want to track that child's progress and take vaccinations very seriously! Just my opinion.
On the flip side-our smaller hospitals are quieter and you get seen very quickly-many times immediately-day or night. In the cities-no.
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