Half measures on healthcare won’t do, says veteran doctor Robert Calder

When it comes to providing consistent, long-term quality healthcare in rural communities, half measures simply won’t do, says the longest serving physician in Osoyoos.

Dr. Robert Calder, the founder of the Osoyoos Medical Centre (OMC) and veteran physician who has been serving patients from the South Okanagan since moving to Osoyoos 42 years ago in 1975, decided to offer his thoughts about the local healthcare system and possible solutions to improve service.

Issues relating to concerns over the regional healthcare system surfaced prominently in Oliver and Osoyoos since Dr. Peter Entwistle announced three weeks ago he was stepping down at chief of staff at South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) in Oliver.

Entwistle cited a combination of working extremely long hours in the Emergency Room at SOGH on top of his family practice in Oliver and the reduction of acute care beds from 24 to the 18 fully funded by Interior Health at the hospital as key reasons for his decision.

Carl Meadows, Interior Health’s South Okanagan’s Health Services Administrator, told Town of Osoyoos council two weeks ago that SOGH has received funding for 18 acute care beds for the past five years and that is not going to change.

He also disagreed with Entwistle’s suggestion acute care beds at SOGH were filled to capacity on a regular basis, stating it extremely rare when all 18 beds at the hospital were being utilized.

Without getting involved in the dispute, Dr. Calder would only say that Dr. Entwistle is a committed and dedicated physician who did a wonderful job as chief of staff at SOGH for over nine years and “that he wouldn’t step down for nothing.”

Stating “everything is rosy” at SOGH is misleading the public and inaccurate, said Dr. Calder.

The biggest problem with ER services at SOGH is that a small contingent of physicians are being asked and have committed to providing services on top of busy family practices and some are simply getting burned out and others are upset they are being paid inferior wages to what ER physicians in other hospitals like Penticton Regional Hospital (PRH) are being paid, said Dr. Calder.

Physicians in Osoyoos and Oliver have gone above and beyond to staff the ER at SOGH for several years and management at IH has been warned on numerous occasions that help was needed and those warnings have not been heeded, said Dr. Calder.

The solution to the problem is very simple, but will cost money – and IH has been very reluctant to increase funding to this region for many years, he said.

The solution is to hire full-time ER physicians, he said.

“It’s just my opinion, but having full-time Emergency Room physicians is the best solution,” he said.

There are many young physicians who have just graduated from medical school who would love the opportunity to work in an ER like the one at SOGH, he said.

“It’s a draining job, but it’s a fun job (working in an ER),” said Dr. Calder. “Being able to work in a busy ER right out of medical school would appeal to a lot of young doctors.”

Dr. Calder said another of the biggest issues facing small communities like Osoyoos and Oliver is recruitment of physicians and other healthcare professionals.

The best way to tackle the problem is to pay decent money to a qualified healthcare recruitment professional, which has proven a great success in other communities, he said.

“Creston hired a full-time healthcare recruiter some time ago and they’ve had absolutely no problem getting doctors and nurses and social workers to relocate there,” he said. “If you make it (recruitment) a priority, you need to hire a full-time person to do that job.”

A lot of the healthcare concerns of Osoyoos and area residents will be addressed once Dr. Jayden McIntyre arrives in Osoyoos to begin his own family practice at the OMC, said Dr. Calder.

McIntyre, who is from Dawson Creek, recently graduated from the Northern Medical Program and did a medical locum at the Osoyoos Medical Centre last year and was thrilled to be offered a job in Osoyoos, said Dr. Calder.

McIntyre will be the first new doctor in Osoyoos since Dr. Jaco Bellingan came to Osoyoos and joined the OMC almost five years ago.

There is already a long list of Osoyoos residents who have signed up as McIntyre is accepting new patients and will continue to do so until his arrival in July, said Dr. Calder.

McIntyre’s hiring was announced shortly after Dr. Elzaan de Witt announced she would be leaving her family practice in Osoyoos and moving to Oliver, where she will join her sister Dr. Madia Smallwood’s practice.

Dr. Garnett Tarr, a veteran physician in Osoyoos, is actively recruiting another family physician to replace Dr. de Witt, said Dr. Calder.

McIntyre has shown a keen interest in working in the ER at SOGH, which should alleviate some of the issues affecting physician staffing at that facility, he said.

“One of the biggest reasons he’s chosen to come here is because he wants to work in the ER at SOGH,” he said. “His arrival will really help solve a lot of the staffing issues that are going on now.”

Having access to a family physician is critical and he understands why so many residents in Osoyoos and Oliver have become frustrated without being able to find one, he said.

“When you are sick, you need someone you trust to go to bat for you,” he said. “It’s comforting to patients to know they can visit their family doctor when (healthcare) issues need to be dealt with.

“We have so many people without a family doctor right now and I can fully understand their frustration. Hopefully the arrival of Dr. McIntyre will help resolve a lot of those concerns.”

On a final note, Dr. Calder said the decision by the provincial government a decade ago to reduce the number of students accepted into medical school in B.C. by 10 per cent has resulted in a shortage of doctors ever since.

“Since they reduced the number of medical students by 10 per cent, we’ve never recovered,” he said.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times