LPN Jaret Blidook from South Okanagan General Hospital shows Interior Health CEO Chris Mazurkewich the hospital’s computer system. At right is acute care administrator Lori Motluk. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
The Town of Oliver is anticipating a one-year partnership program that will enhance emergency room coverage at South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH).
Recently members of council listened to Interior Health representatives Lori Motluk and Dr. Curtis Bell talk about finding and keeping rural physicians and the challenges they face.
Bell said physician shortages are felt around the world, noting that 81 out of 120 countries report shortages.
“Kamloops and Kelowna also have trouble recruiting.”
But not the Lower Mainland, where there is an overabundance of doctors, he pointed out.
According to Interior Health, 21 per cent of Canadians are rural, but only nine per cent of Canadian physicians are rural.
Statistics suggest that rural Canadians have more illness and a shorter life expectancy.
Bell said one in four Canadian doctors completed medical school outside of Canada, and 90 per cent of medical students come from wealthy urban families.
Bell noted it takes eight to 10 years of education to become a doctor today, and while medical schools teach skills for urban practice, that is changing with rural campuses, including UBCO.
Interior Health has been working on doctor recruitment and retention. Funding goes toward relocation expenses, income support, rural retention bonuses, education support and vacation relief.
But Bell said today’s physicians have a different work/life balance than the doctors of his generation.
“Physicians don’t work 80-hour weeks or don’t want to.”
Bell tried to put it delicately that you don’t get the same level of productivity today, and a lot of young physicians have no inclination to operate their own business.
Motluk agreed that a lot of younger doctors want a turnkey operation (ready to go as soon as you walk through the door).
What is being done locally?
Motluk said there are 19 active physicians in Oliver and Osoyoos, two of whom arrived in May.
She pointed out that new citizens moving in to the community (for the new prison, for example) will have need for additional physicians.
Motluk said Interior Health is working on a 12-month partnership between Penticton and Oliver emergency room physicians to enhance the practice, provide networking opportunities and augment manpower while SOGH recruits doctors.
Motluk expressed her excitement about the UBC school of family practice in the Okanagan, where medical students will be trained, including some rural experience in the Oliver hospital.
How can communities help?
Motluk said the Town of Oliver can work in partnership with Interior Health to help find accommodation for locums and new recruits, which is a challenge. She also asked that the Town help match new physicians with local families to help integrate them into the community.
“The other challenge is the ability to find meaningful work for the spouse,” Motluck said.
Councillor Maureen Doerr expressed a concern that the emergency room at SOGH was previously shut down twice due to a lack of coverage by physicians.
Bell said they hope it never happens again, but explained that it was a question of safety (for a small number of doctors taking on the majority of the shifts).
Doerr suggested that Interior Health utilize nurse practitioners in the emergency room, which would take the pressure off the physicians.
Motluk said this practice is less common in B.C., but it does work in larger centres.
Bell said it would be difficult for nurses to take on that responsibility here.
Councillor Jack Bennest asked why the government doesn’t have paid doctors (without practices) to staff hospital emergency rooms.
Bell said lifestyle choices have steered doctors away from emergency room duties. “It’s not like it’s a real attractive arrangement.”
Bell said the partnership program will help ensure physicians are trained and give them the opportunity to learn what it’s like to work in a rural hospital.
LYONEL DOHERTY
Special to the Times
Dr. Curtis Bell from Interior Health addresses Town council during a presentation on recruiting and keeping doctors in Oliver. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
