A new primary care navigation clinic has launched at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) to bridge a critical gap by providing hospital patients who do not have a family doctor with direct access to primary care.
What makes the East Toronto Primary Care Navigation Clinic (PCNC) unique is that it focuses on finding permanent, long-term primary care providers for each of its patients. In addition to primary care, this clinic also provides social prescriptions for patients who may be in need of additional support, including connections to housing, food support and more.
This clinic is operated as a partnership between Michael Garron Hospital, Flemingdon Health Centre and TNO – The Neighbourhood Organization, all members of East Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team (ETHP OHT).
Primary care is a person’s first point of access to the healthcare system, and the most common primary care practitioners are family doctors and nurse practitioners.
The new clinic provides short-term primary care follow-up appointments to patients – typically two to six visits – to support medical stabilization and connect patients with community support. During this time, clinic staff work to connect the patient to a permanent, long-term primary care provider.
At this time, the East Toronto PCNC is taking internal hospital referrals only, serving patients who were recently cared for in select MGH departments.
“Our goal is to ensure that MGH patients who are in need of a primary care provider are quickly identified by our teams and referred to this clinic to ensure they have the supports they need after their departure from the hospital,” says Dr. Carmine Simone, Executive Vice President, Medical, Clinical Infrastructure and Partnerships at MGH. “By connecting patients with primary care, we can prevent future Emergency Department visits from patients who are not experiencing a true emergency but have no other option but to visit us.”
The East Toronto PCNC’s interprofessional team includes a family physician, nurses and a navigation counsellor, all collaborating to provide comprehensive, coordinated care.
A collaborative, team-based approach to connect East Toronto residents to primary care
By combining hospital expertise with community-based health and social care, the East Toronto PCNC represents a key step in strengthening integrated care across East Toronto.
The East Toronto PCNC is operated in collaboration with ETHP OHT partner organizations Flemingdon Health Centre (FHC) and TNO – the Neighbourhood Organization, who provide operational and staffing support.
This clinic is part of a larger project in East Toronto aiming to connect residents to primary care, led by ETHP OHT, East Toronto Family Practice Network and FHC.
The East Toronto PCNC serves as one of several “primary care access points” in East Toronto and will support the project’s aim of connecting 11,000 East Toronto residents to primary care by summer 2026 and connecting all East Toronto residents to primary care by 2029.
“Right now, we know that there are tens of thousands of East Toronto residents who do not have access to primary care,” says Dr. Catherine Yu, Chief, Department of Family and Community Medicine at MGH and Medical Director at FHC.
“Healthcare organizations across East Toronto are collaborating to recruit additional primary care providers, identify unattached individuals, and match each resident with an appropriate provider. By working together, we are ensuring that as many residents as possible will have stable primary care in the years to come.”
The East Toronto PCNC and the East Toronto primary care project are funded as part of the Ontario government’s Primary Care Action Plan, which has committed $1.8 billion provincewide to connect two million people to a family doctor or primary care team.
Any Ontario residents who are currently seeking a family doctor or primary care clinic can register via Health Care Connect online or via phone at 811.