The community has provincial funding for 6.5 family physicians. However, many of the eight physicians work part-time, and their combined work amounts to approximately 5.7 physicians.
Community doctors say that although there is a slight shortage of full-time family doctors, their workload remains “manageable”.
One of these doctors, Dr. Ian Dobson, came to the community nine years ago from Vancouver, thanks to the locum program that brings doctors to rural areas for a limited time. The charm having operated, Ian Dobson stayed at Mackenzie. I couldn’t be happier
he says.
His colleague, Dr. Dan Penmanmeanwhile arrived ten years ago in search of a new adventure to escape his city life. It’s a really nice community [et] very welcoming. [La population] is very grateful.
Among the reasons that convinced these physicians to stay in the community were the landscape, access to recreation and short commutes. Doctors also say they like raising their young children in rural areas.
According to them, the alternative payment model has helped them and other physicians stay Mackenzie. Dan Penman points out that the Northern Health Authority owns and maintains the building where they work, leaving them to focus on medicine rather than running a business.
Hospital short of nursing staff
In British Columbia, most physicians are independent contractors and run their practices like businesses. A new physician compensation model that has just been introduced in the province will take into account, among other things, the time spent with patients.
According Dan Penmanbecause the doctors of Mackenzie do not have to worry about administrative responsibilities, they can meet the needs of the people.
If the situation seems under control on the side of the family doctors, the local hospital must nevertheless sometimes close because of a shortage of staff, in particular of nursing staff.
There’s an element of instability there and a lot of doctors really don’t want to work in a setting like that if they don’t have nursing staff or stability in terms of emergency coverage.
analyse Dan Penman.
The mayor of Mackenzie, Joan Atkinsonexplains that a group of 30 mayors across the province are working on a request for government assistance to address health care shortages overall. We need to staff all of our hospitals and we need to staff all of our paramedic units across the province.
Although the community is well endowed with family physicians, Dan Penman mentions that two part-time doctors plan to leave later in the year. For him, the health authority and the community must continue their efforts to recruit and retain doctors.
From the moment you relax your efforts, and you lose two doctors, then things are destabilized […] If you lose enough doctors […]the doctors [restants] may then experience burnout.
With information from Courtney Dickson
