How to Find a Family Doctor in Oshawa and Durham Region

If you are reading this, you probably already know the frustrating part. You call a clinic, you are told they are not taking patients, you put your name on a list somewhere, and then nothing happens for a very long time.

You are not alone in it. Estimates from the Ontario College of Family Physicians put the number of Ontario residents without a family doctor at roughly 2.5 million. Durham Region feels this acutely. A March 2026 report to the City of Oshawa cited Ministry of Health data estimating that approximately 66,000 people in Durham are without a primary care provider, and noted that around 27 per cent of family physicians in the region are over the age of 60 and approaching retirement. A survey by the Ontario Medical Association found that 52 per cent of the province's existing family physicians are considering retirement within five years.

Those numbers explain the difficulty. They do not mean you should give up, because the situation in 2026 is genuinely moving, and the people who get attached fastest are the ones who work more than one channel at the same time.

First, understand what "attached" means

In Ontario's health system, being attached means having a documented, ongoing relationship with a family doctor, a primary care nurse practitioner, or a primary care team. It is different from being seen once at a walk-in clinic. Attachment is what gives you continuity: someone who holds your full history, tracks your chronic conditions, orders your screening, and refers you to specialists when needed.

That relationship is worth pursuing. Being attached to a primary care provider is consistently associated with better preventive care, better management of chronic disease, and fewer avoidable trips to the emergency department.

Step by step: how to actually get a family doctor

1. Register with Health Care Connect

   Health Care Connect is the free provincial program that matches Ontarians to a family doctor or nurse practitioner accepting new patients. You can register online at ontario.ca/healthcareconnect or by calling 811, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Interpretation is available in many languages on the phone service. You will need a valid Ontario health card and a mailing address that matches your health card record, plus some basic health information. Priority is given to people with greater health needs based on an established clinical process.

2. Make sure your information stays current

   This is the step people skip, and it costs them. If you move, change your phone number, or renew your health card, update your Health Care Connect record. Referral letters are sent to both the clinician and the patient, so an out of date address can mean a match you never hear about.

3. Contact clinics directly, in parallel

   Treat the waitlist as one channel, not the only channel. Practices open their rosters at unpredictable times: when a new physician joins, when a doctor returns from leave, or when a clinic expands. The people who get in are usually the ones who called that week. Search for clinics in Oshawa, Whitby, Courtice and Bowmanville, and call the ones that mention accepting new patients.

4. Ask the right questions when you call

   See the checklist below. A five minute phone call tells you far more than a website ever will.

5. Complete the registration paperwork properly

   Most practices ask new patients to complete a registration form and, in Ontario, an enrolment form that formally links you to the physician. Fill it in fully and return it quickly. Incomplete paperwork is a common reason a spot quietly goes to somebody else.

6. Book a meet and greet or first full appointment

   Bring your history. This first visit is where the relationship actually starts.

What to ask when you call a clinic

• Are you accepting new patients right now, and is there a waitlist?
• Do you take patients of all ages, including children and seniors?
• Can I request a male or female physician?
• What languages are spoken at the clinic?
• Do you offer walk-in appointments for your own patients when something urgent comes up?
• What are your hours, and are you open evenings or Saturdays?
• Is there a pharmacy, lab, imaging or other services on site?
• What paperwork do you need from me, and how do I return it?

What is changing in 2026

There is real movement worth knowing about, because it affects how you should play this.

Ontario's Primary Care Action Plan is a multi year push to connect every resident in the province to a family doctor or primary care team by 2029, with total funding raised to $3.4 billion between 2025 and 2029 in the 2026 Budget. Under the plan, the province has reported that the Health Care Connect waitlist as it stood on January 1, 2025 was reduced by more than 87 per cent by March 2026, with new and expanded primary care teams prioritising people already on that list as they attach patients.

Locally, Durham's municipalities signed a memorandum of understanding with the Region to create a Durham wide family physician recruitment program, funding a dedicated recruiter through the Durham Ontario Health Team under the Docs for Durham banner. The province has also expanded the Learn and Stay grant to cover tuition for undergraduate students who commit to practising family medicine with a full patient roster, an announcement made at Lakeridge Health in Oshawa.

What to do while you wait

Waiting for a match does not mean going without care. Here is where to turn in the meantime, and what each option can realistically do for you.

We go through this decision in much more detail in our companion guide, walk-in clinic, pharmacist, or emergency room.

One practical habit makes every one of these visits better: keep a single up to date page listing your medications and doses, your allergies, your past surgeries, your chronic conditions, and any recent test results. When you finally do get a family doctor, that page will save your first appointment.

Your first appointment: what to bring

• Your health card and a piece of photo identification.
• A list of all medications you take, including doses, plus vitamins and supplements.
• Any recent test results or records you have copies of.
• Your family medical history, as far as you know it.
• Your immunisation records, especially for children.
• A short written list of the two or three things you most want to discuss. First appointments move quickly, and a list keeps the important thing from being the thing you remember in the parking lot.

We are accepting new patients in central Oshawa

Simcoe Medical Clinic is a family and walk-in practice at 115 Simcoe Street South, and we are currently welcoming new patients of all ages: families, children, seniors, and newcomers settling into a new country and a new health system. We have experienced male and female physicians, and you can book directly with whichever you prefer. Arabic is spoken at the clinic.

Because a pharmacy, pain clinic, physiotherapy and ultrasound imaging are all on site, more of your care happens in one place, which means fewer trips across town and fewer things falling through the cracks between providers.

You can book online below, call (905) 215-1815, or save time by downloading our new patient registration form and completing it before your first visit. We are open Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with free patient parking on site.

Common questions