Yet another wake up call for us in the north about our health.
The latest report from the provincial advisor on health care shows we continue to die sooner on average than people in the rest of the province.
The report says we in the north have a much shorter life expectancy than those in the province overall – 2.9 years lower than Ontario in the North West LHIN region, and 2.5 years lower in the North East LHIN region.
We’re also more likely to die before age 75 due to suicide, circulatory disease and respiratory disease.
It says people in the north are much less likely to report being able to see a family doctor, nurse practitioner or other regular health care provider when needed, and are more likely to report having multiple chronic conditions.
The Health Care Ontario report attributes our poor health care, in part, to problems health officials have in serving a population spread over such a wide area.
