From Crisis to Continuity: New Clinic To Connect 10,000 Unattached Patients to Primary Care

For patients without a family doctor, the emergency department might be their only option when a health crisis hits. But, when that crisis has passed, they are on their own again—until the next emergency.

This is a familiar story across Ontario, where 2.5 million people live without a family doctor to manage chronic health issues and prevent new ones.

In northwest Toronto, where over 50,000 residents are unattached or ‘uncertainly attached,’ Humber River Health and the Schulich Family Medicine Teaching Unit (Schulich FMTU) have created a simple, elegant solution.

Any local patient who arrives at the hospital without a family doctor can be referred to the on-site primary care clinic in a few clicks, like referrals for cardiology or radiology.

“Northwest Toronto has been described as a primary care desert. It has one of the highest rates of patients unattached to primary care in the entire Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network,” says Dr. Priya Sood, a family doctor and the inaugural postgraduate program director of the family medicine residency program at Humber. “We’ve intentionally taken a socially accountable approach when building our FMTU. Focusing on local, unattached patients is a big part of that.”

For patients who have spent years trying to find a family doctor, having a regular, compassionate care provider is a huge relief.

Daniella has lived with iron deficiency anemia for the past 12 years, with complications including fainting, heavy periods and seizures that have required emergency care.

“At one point, I was in a really bad place. I was visiting the emergency department every few months and had three blood transfusions there, which wouldn’t have happened if my anemia was well managed,” says Daniella.

Now a patient at the Schulich FMTU, after being referred during one of these visits to Humber’s emergency department, Daniella and her mother, Berta, couldn’t be happier to have a family doctor helping manage Daniella’s anemia.

“One month after finding out about the clinic, we went in together and came out smiling so much—we couldn’t believe it,” says Berta.

Since then, Daniella hasn’t needed to use the emergency department for her anemia.

“They caught me up on everything I needed in such a short amount of time. The resident doctors are so kind and capable, their motivation and passion shine through. We feel very lucky,” says Daniella.

Like Daniella, most patients currently arrive at the Schulich FMTU via the emergency department, with others being referred through Humber’s Mother and Baby Program and various outpatient medical clinics.

As capacity has grown, the team is now accepting external referrals from patients themselves as well as community partners, including newcomer agencies.

For Dr. Clara Sawires, a second-year family medicine resident in the Schulich FMTU, the physician-patient relationship can be as therapeutic as any medical intervention.

“A lot of our patients are completely new to the Canadian health system, and many have never had a family doctor or any preventative care in the past,” says Dr. Sawires. “At the same time as addressing health concerns, we help people understand how the system works. So, you don’t have to go to the emergency department for back pain; you can come to me. Taking the time to explain how things work, and make sure a patient is heard and understood is incredibly valuable.”

The Schulich FMTU opened in April 2023 and welcomed its first clinicians and four residents shortly after. By 2026, the clinic will be home to eight physicians training 18 family medicine residents a year, and 15 University of Toronto medical students doing family medicine rotations, all caring for 10,000 previously unattached patients.

“At full capacity, we will be making a significant dent in the number of unattached patients in northwest Toronto,” says Dr. Sood. “Our hope is that many of our residents will choose to stay and practice locally, each providing care to another 1,000 or so patients and making a real difference to health in the region.”

Originally published in the 2024-2025 Family Medicine Report. Read the full report