It's welcome news for the thousands of local residents in need of a family physician.
The Sarnia Medical Group and Blue Coast Primary Care Recruitment and Retention have announced Dr. Olubambo Abiodun Sobayo is now accepting patients.
Dr. Sobayo and his family recently moved to the community from the UK, where he had extensive experience as a family medicine practitioner.
Recruitment Specialist Carly Cox said Dr. Sobayo is the 48th doctor brought to the area by Blue Coast.
"We estimated that about 13,000 patients, at the beginning of the year, did not have a primary care provider in Sarnia-Lambton," said Cox. "With the two announcements that we have made this year already, we're estimating that number to go down to 10,000. There's certainly still a lot of work to do, but positive impacts are happening."
Cox said recruitment efforts are always ongoing.
"Even though we are seeing these positive impacts, we're expecting three to four family physicians to retire before 2026 in Lambton County," she said. "We're also seeing a trend of our current providers seeking more diverse practices outside of, but still complementary, to family medicine. That's creating a void that we have to fill as well."
Cox said the recruitment of Dr. Sobayo was made possible through the efforts of the Sarnia Medical Group team, led by Dr. Ajayi-Obe.
Blue Coast Primary Care Recruitment and Retention brought Dr. Emiloju Edalere-Lukula to Sarnia earlier this year as the 47th recruit.
Those without a family doctor are encouraged to visit www.sarniamedicalgroup.com or drop by the office at 494 Christina St. in Sarnia to complete a patient information form.
