County celebrates recruitment of first physician through new Primary Care Recruitment Initiative

Cobourg, ON – April 2, 2026 – Northumberland County is pleased to welcome family physician Dr. Roshion Sabeeha Ishaque to the community, marking a significant milestone for the Northumberland Primary Care Recruitment Initiative. With more than 8,000 residents in Northumberland estimated to be without a family doctor, and this number expected to grow rapidly, the County launched this initiative in fall 2025 to align local efforts, ensuring Northumberland is recognized as a place where physicians want to practice and families can count on reliable access to primary care.

Dr. Ishaque has established her practice at the Cobourg Clinic—part of the Northumberland Family Health Team—as of March 25, 2026.  Her arrival will help address a critical service gap created by the retirement of several local physicians over the past few years. Dr. Ishaque will be building her roster from local patients registered with the provincial Health Care Connect list, with her office contacting people directly from this list.

Dr. Ishaque completed her medical training at the University of Toronto, where she developed a strong interest in family medicine and continuity of care. Originally from Toronto, she is drawn to Cobourg, and the Northumberland community, for its small-town pace and welcoming atmosphere, which also align well with her interests outside of medicine, including painting, reading, and going for walks. She looks forward to building meaningful, long-term relationships with local patients and families.

In September 2025, Northumberland County announced Paula Mason’s hiring as well as the launch of the Primary Care Recruitment Advisory Committee as part of a two-year pilot project to centralize primary care recruitment efforts for all of Northumberland. Momentum has since been steadily building, with connections established to provincial programs, recruitment fairs, and new partnerships. As an example, in January, the committee and area partners participated in “Rural Medicine Week” – an annual event for first year medical students, run by the Rural Ontario Medical Program. A group of medical students from Queen’s University visited the county, touring both hospitals, shadowing primary care practices, and learning more about living and working in the community.

The County is committed to improving access to primary health care for residents across all seven municipalities of Northumberland through the Primary Care Recruitment Initiative. As this work progresses, residents who are currently without a family doctor are encouraged to register with Health Care Connect, a provincial program that helps connect individuals to available primary care providers. Registration can be completed online (ontario.ca/page/find-family-doctor-or-nurse-practitioner) or by phone (1-800-445-1822). Patients on this list will be prioritized as new physicians establish their practices locally.