The City of Belleville is encouraging residents without a family doctor or nurse practitioner in the Quinte region to register with Health Care Connect, a provincial program designed to help connect Ontarians with primary care providers.
Health Care Connect is a centralized registry that matches residents who do not have a regular primary care provider with available family physicians or nurse practitioners in their community. The program is part of the Province of Ontario’s broader goal of ensuring every resident has access to primary care by 2029.
Residents who currently travel outside the Quinte region for primary care are also encouraged to register. Joining the registry can help match residents with a provider closer to home as new opportunities become available.
In addition to the City’s efforts to attract more than 20 new family doctors to the City in the last three years, the Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health Team is working with the Ministry of Health to improve access to primary care through expanded team-based care and efforts to reduce the provincial Health Care Connect waitlist. In 2025-26, the Ministry announced $4.45 million in funding for the region to expand services and connect approximately 10,000 residents to primary care providers across communities including Belleville, Brighton, Stirling, Tweed, Bancroft and Prince Edward County.
“Access to primary care is essential to the health and well-being of our community,” said Mayor Neil Ellis. “Registering with Health Care Connect helps ensure residents are included when new doctors and nurse practitioners take on patients and when opportunities become available as local health care capacity continues to expand.”
Residents without a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register online or by phone through the provincial Health Care Connect program.
For more information or to register, visit Ontario.ca/HealthCareConnect.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
