The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services:

 Speaker, Sunday, May 19, is World Family Doctor Day, and I rise in this Honourable House to celebrate family doctors for the care they provide to our communities.

This year’s theme is Healthy Planet, Healthy People, which highlights the connection between the planet’s health, our well-being, and the role of family doctors.

Speaker, we are committed to supporting our family doctors and value the leadership and broad scope of skill family physicians bring.

The Shared Agenda for Family Medicine with the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association and our support for the Family Practice Renewal Program demonstrate our commitment to improve family medicine.

Over 100 physicians have been recruited in the past year due to our competitive recruitment incentives, including over 50 family physicians who work throughout the province in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and communities.

We are expanding the number of Faculty of Medicine seats for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, boosting recruitment and retention initiatives, and developing family care teams to increase access to health care and create collaborative environments for family physicians. We are working together to fulfill the promise of the Health Accord’s transformation.

Speaker, I ask the members to join me in applauding family doctors for their invaluable contributions to Newfoundland and Labrador.