Hamilton surgeon named head of OMA

On the eve of negotiations with the province, the presidency of the Ontario Medical Association has changed hands, but not hometowns.

For a second straight term, the yearly appointment belongs to a Hamilton doctor as Dr. Ved Tandan takes over from Dr. Scott Wooder in the OMA's top job.

The move comes as the OMA is prepares to go into negotiations with the province that will a major impact on how Ontario’s 25,000 doctors get paid, and how health care is delivered.

In 2012, talks broke down between the pair when the province wanted to freeze doctors’ wages at a total of $11.1 billion. After walking away from the table, Ontario’s doctors eventually accepted a two-year wage freeze, an agreement that is now up for renegotiation.

Tandan, a surgeon at Hamilton General Hospital, said while the system is broken, it can be better.

“We need to reinvent the way we deliver care in Ontario,” Tandan said in a press release. “If we are open to change, and adapt to new tools, technologies, and models of care, we can truly build the health-care system of the future.”