One doesn’t have to look very far to see that Flin Flon doesn’t have enough family doctors.
Look to the Flin Flon Post It page on Facebook and you’ll find frustrated reports of extensive wait times – averaging more than two weeks in December. Look to our MLA’s monthly report and you’ll find he’s been vocalizing the need often.
Physicians have a variety of options in Flin Flon, but none seem to stay for the long run, and only so many are somewhat guaranteed to the area. The Northern Health Region (NHR) receives funding through the provincial government for three physician positions. The maximum recommended case load for each physician is 1,200. With a population of 5,185 – not to mention those who seek care in Flin Flon from Creighton and Denare Beach – even if each NHR physician in Flin Flon takes on their maximum patient load, those numbers don’t match the population. This isn’t to say patients won’t be seen, but to assign every resident a family physician would put those physicians well above their recommended case load – more so now that Dr. Andrea Thwala is no longer in Flin Flon.
While the NHR is only funded for three physicians, any licensed physician can come to Flin Flon and set up shop in their own building under a fee-for-service model. This model sees the physician bill for each service rendered – rather than work in a contract or salaried position for an organization – in accordance with a pre-arranged schedule of fees and services. It also sees the physician responsible for their operating costs. While this model would certainly help
alleviate wait times to some degree, a physician has to have some incentive to come to Flin Flon,
and to stay.
In The Reminder’s article “CEO talks wait time, physician staffing” on page 1 of this week’s paper, NHR CEO Helga Bryant speaks to the cyclical nature of physician tenure in Flin Flon, noting that physicians often head to larger centres after they have passed the Canadian Family Practitioner Exam.
Through locums, the NHR is able to fill any gaps in service between one full-time physician departing and another arriving.
In the long run, though, it would be best if there were something in place to retain doctors who work either for the NHR or under a fee-for-service model. It’s great that the NHR can continually find doctors to stay for a while, and that the organization can find locums to fill any gaps. It would be better if there was more incentive for doctors to stay over a longer term.
Flin Flon’s population is shrinking, but it isn’t shrinking to the point where three doctors of some guarantee are enough to service the area. Additionally, as the city’s population ages, physicians become more important.
The NHR is working with Manitoba Health to secure funding for additional physicians. Armed with the right numbers, it should be a simple task, because those numbers speak. This funding should be a priority for the provincial government –
health care is an essential need for our population, and the amount of doctors available affects the quality of life for local residents. Without an adequate amount of doctors, people suffer. The Manitoba government needs to fund more doctors in the north, and give them a reason to stay.
