More doctors heading to Lloydminster
By Katie Ryan
Prairie North Health Region’s doctor recruitment work is netting results for Lloydminster.
Seven new family physicians are in the pipeline to work in the city in 2012, said PNRH CEO David Fan. The first family physician is scheduled to arrive from South Africa in January, he continued, and another physician from the United Kingdom is to arrive in February.
“I have five more who are slated to land in May 2012,” Fan said over the phone Tuesday morning, noting prior to independently practicing in the city, each physician will have to undergo the Saskatchewan-based International Medical Graduates assessment process. “That will take a couple of months before they can start practicing.
“Everything takes time but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.
“I am just hoping the general public will be patient with us now that we have really identified this as a number one priority for us and we have been working at it quite hard. We are beginning to see some results.”
The primary health care review, commissioned by the health region and Lloydminster Region Health Foundation earlier in April, offered six recommendations for PNHR to act on, including the recruitment of at least nine physicians to satisfy the family physician to resident ratio.
“We already have over the past year, recruited at least three new family physicians in the community, so with another seven more it will exceed the nine as a target,” said Fan, who updated PNHR board members on the new medical staff appointments during the Nov. 30 meeting. “Now in the meantime, who knows if there will be somebody leaving. The reality is that there are always people coming and going, and hopefully we can get enough coming rather than people leaving, so the net gain should be a good thing.
“In other words, the recruitment process never stops, so we will keep going,” he added. “With the seven coming through, it will position us quite well.” Working with the Lloydminster and District Health Advisory Committee, which works with both local clinics, the health region and LRHF on recruitment and retention initiatives, has been a boon to the health region’s strategy to hire new doctors, said Fan.
“They have been very helpful to us in terms of providing the soft landing, basically showing the potential physicians around, showing them the housing options, schools and just generally providing the welcoming part of it,” he continued. “I think that’s very critical to convincing potential physicians that Lloydminster is a place to come to live and to work.”
A variety of specialists have also been recently recruited to work in the Border City. Among the seven specialists who have agreed to move to Lloydminster to practice medicine are a general surgeon, who will land in Lloydminster in January said Fan, a pediatrician and an orthopedic surgeon in September, as well as a radiologist in July. Where the new specialists or family physicians will set up their practice has yet to be confirmed. In October the health region opened the Prairie North Health Centre in Lloydminster to provide “turn-key operations” for family physicians and specialists who are new to the community.
“They have the option to join the Prairie North Health Centre or they could negotiate with other clinics to their liking,” said Fan. “If they want to use (the centre) as a starting base, they are more than welcome to do that. And that’s precisely what it’s meant to do, to give them a starting point. But if they want to stay long term, that will be just fine with us too.” Since the Prairie North Health Centre opened a few months ago, Fan said it’s been used for family practices and to house specialists in transition to a more permanent setup.
Prairie North Health Region’s doctor recruitment work is netting results for Lloydminster.
Seven new family physicians are in the pipeline to work in the city in 2012, said PNRH CEO David Fan. The first family physician is scheduled to arrive from South Africa in January, he continued, and another physician from the United Kingdom is to arrive in February.
“I have five more who are slated to land in May 2012,” Fan said over the phone Tuesday morning, noting prior to independently practicing in the city, each physician will have to undergo the Saskatchewan-based International Medical Graduates assessment process. “That will take a couple of months before they can start practicing.
“Everything takes time but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.
“I am just hoping the general public will be patient with us now that we have really identified this as a number one priority for us and we have been working at it quite hard. We are beginning to see some results.”
The primary health care review, commissioned by the health region and Lloydminster Region Health Foundation earlier in April, offered six recommendations for PNHR to act on, including the recruitment of at least nine physicians to satisfy the family physician to resident ratio.
“We already have over the past year, recruited at least three new family physicians in the community, so with another seven more it will exceed the nine as a target,” said Fan, who updated PNHR board members on the new medical staff appointments during the Nov. 30 meeting. “Now in the meantime, who knows if there will be somebody leaving. The reality is that there are always people coming and going, and hopefully we can get enough coming rather than people leaving, so the net gain should be a good thing.
“In other words, the recruitment process never stops, so we will keep going,” he added. “With the seven coming through, it will position us quite well.” Working with the Lloydminster and District Health Advisory Committee, which works with both local clinics, the health region and LRHF on recruitment and retention initiatives, has been a boon to the health region’s strategy to hire new doctors, said Fan.
“They have been very helpful to us in terms of providing the soft landing, basically showing the potential physicians around, showing them the housing options, schools and just generally providing the welcoming part of it,” he continued. “I think that’s very critical to convincing potential physicians that Lloydminster is a place to come to live and to work.”
A variety of specialists have also been recently recruited to work in the Border City. Among the seven specialists who have agreed to move to Lloydminster to practice medicine are a general surgeon, who will land in Lloydminster in January said Fan, a pediatrician and an orthopedic surgeon in September, as well as a radiologist in July. Where the new specialists or family physicians will set up their practice has yet to be confirmed. In October the health region opened the Prairie North Health Centre in Lloydminster to provide “turn-key operations” for family physicians and specialists who are new to the community.
“They have the option to join the Prairie North Health Centre or they could negotiate with other clinics to their liking,” said Fan. “If they want to use (the centre) as a starting base, they are more than welcome to do that. And that’s precisely what it’s meant to do, to give them a starting point. But if they want to stay long term, that will be just fine with us too.” Since the Prairie North Health Centre opened a few months ago, Fan said it’s been used for family practices and to house specialists in transition to a more permanent setup.
1 comments:
Great news. If we can retain the existing doctors, we will be a lot closer to ending our doctor shortage.
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