The North Battleford Medical Clinic is located in the Primary Health Centre building. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Rural recruitment

NB resident concerned about shortage of family doctors

Aug 16, 2022 | 3:44 PM

A North Battleford woman is upset after not being able to access a doctor at a local clinic she has been going to for many years with her healthcare needs.

Amy Williams said after her longtime physician, Dr. Johnson, retired from North Battleford Medical Clinic; a primary health care clinic, she and many other patients were left without a family doctor.

In addition, two other doctors from the clinic recently moved to other communities, leaving more patients without a physician.

“I’m not happy,” Williams said. “I don’t go to the doctor that often but I know people who need a doctor who have complex medical health care issues, and they have no doctor. So where did their test results go; who will refer them to the next level of health care that they need? I don’t know.”

The North Battleford Medical Clinic said on a sign posted by its doors that if an individual was a patient of Dr. Johnson, Dr. Lazar, or Dr. Gorsalitz, “due to the Health Authority’s unsuccessful physician recruitment for our clinic, our remaining physicians regret to inform you that they are unable to continue to provide services for you as of Sept. 1.”

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The clinic is completely booked through August so people will have to seek out care from a walk-in-clinic or the ER in case of an emergency. The current physicians are unable to accept any more patients. In the meantime people are asked to check back with the clinic every few months to see if the health authority has been able to recruit more doctors.

The clinic noted once individuals have found a new health care provider, it will transfer their chart at their request.

Battlefords MLA Jeremy Cockrill said he is aware of the situation at the clinic.

“Obviously, it’s a difficult circumstance for many people in our community right now, with one physician retiring this summer and a couple of other physicians leaving for other communities,” he said. “That has put a number of patients in a position where they don’t currently have a family doctor.”

He met with the remaining physicians at the clinic about a month-and-a-half ago to discuss the issue, and has been working on it since that time.

“I know that those physicians at that clinic have been doing their best to take on more patients, but obviously every physician at that clinic also has other responsibilities elsewhere in the community, whether it be at the emergency room at the BUH [Battlefords Union Hospital] or with palliative care.”

Cockrill added the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) was not able to find physicians to take the place of those who have left and there is work being done to address this challenge.

He noted a new registered nurse position has opened at the clinic to provide services for those seeking an appointment for more routine visits, such as vaccinations.

Cockrill said he is aware the SHA has made efforts in physician recruitment in the Battlefords.

He added the province is taking on SaskDocs, the physician recruitment agency in Saskatchewan, to assist.

“That has been under the jurisdiction or under the control of the SHA,” Cockrill said. “We’re actually taking that out of the SHA, and bringing that back into the Ministry of Health. Really, that will help give SaskDocs a more focused mandate in recruiting physicians, not only to this specific clinic in North Battleford but also across the province as well.”

He added the province has been working diligently over the last year to try to figure out how to address recruitment and retention issues, especially in rural communities.

“People can expect to hear from us in the coming weeks here on some of the more strategic recruitment and retention initiatives for health care workers in our province,” Cockrill said. “That will be focused not only on just physicians but also nurses and lab techs and paramedics.”

battlefordsNOW attempted to contact the SHA but did not immediately hear back for comment by press time.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW