OXBOW - A town-hall was held at the Memorial Hall in Oxbow on Monday night, with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, politicians, health-care executives and a community representatives committee sharing their progress.
Oxbow’s three appointed committee members joined the other individuals from the RM of Enniskillen, the Oxbow Galloway Trust Committee and Southeast Healthcare Recruitment and Retention.
The groups have met three times since February’s first town-hall session. The talks have been described as open and respectful.
Oxbow’s representatives reported on the talks and the resulting changes that have taken place, as well as the challenges still faced. Tara Brock, Tamara Brock and Treena Mohrbutter prepared a report for the evening. Tamara Brock read the report to the town-hall attendees.
She thanked all those who attended, then mentioned that the questions and concerns from the first town-hall meeting in February had been co-ordinated and turned over to the appropriate department or group. The objective of the meeting was to inform the community about the results so far.
Committee representatives started a Facebook page to update and alert the community and area of any service disruptions and service enhancements. These updates will be made available on community message delivery systems as well. The community is encouraged to keep up with the changes in local health-care services.
Monday night’s panellists were SHA director Erin Goodfellow; Dr. Vijay Prabhu, family physician/area division lead for SE9; Sheena Grimes, director of primary health care for SE9; Cannington MLA Daryl Harrison; and Prince Albert Northcote MLA Alana Ross. Most of the panel rose to address the community regarding the ongoing work that has been addressed and completed along with the needs of the area still to be resolved.
The evening’s moderator directed those in attendance to sign in and count themselves as part of the concerned citizens. Tamara Brock began with the co-operative effort that the staff at the Galloway Health Centre and Oxbow Health Care Auxiliary completed.
The two groups worked together to reopen the family area in the multipurpose side of the facility. There was also a new recliner donated to the palliative care room to offer loved ones comfort during their stay.
A hard blow was dealt to the health-care team in the area in June when the Galloway Health Centre experienced the departure of two doctors. Two new physicians have been hired since and the community is back up to three doctors again.
Dr. Jagjot Kaur and Dr. Nazneen Hussain have accepted positions with the Galloway Health-Centre. One doctor has begun the on-call status, while the other is becoming familiar with the system and community.
In the meantime, the virtual physician (VP) program was implemented Aug. 1. This works in conjunction with the 811 line when there is no emergency coverage in Oxbow’s facility. Patients present to the emergency department where they are assessed by a registered nurse and triaged according to the severity of their concern.
Patients will speak to a Saskatchewan physician on the VP system once they have been initially assessed by the nurses there at emergency.
A plan to treat the individual will be determined and further treatment may require travel to another facility, or to return when a physician is present. This is not a permanent solution but merely a bridge to full service once staffing levels have been filled.
Tamara Brock added that due to the positive and transparent discussions between the two parties, many projects have been initiated and developed for the area. Oxbow was added to the Saskatchewan Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive program. With this program in place, monetary incentive bonuses of up to $50,000 are available to new employees in nine priority health occupations across 54 rural and remote communities in the province.
There is also further incentive of $10,000 to health-care workers from outside of Canada to accept one of these positions and relocate their families to Saskatchewan.
Doctors practising or returning to practice may be eligible for up to $200,000 worth of incentives over five years. An agreement will be made to ensure that certain criteria are met and ongoing for a specific period. The focus of this program is on remote and rural communities in Saskatchewan as well.
There has been a focus on high school student recruitment as well. Students are encouraged to think about the many career possibilities in health care locally. A $30,000 recruitment incentive allocated over three years is available for successful Saskatchewan students. A high priority is given to rural and remote permanent full-time placements. Mature students are also encouraged to apply.
Other successful discussions have led to Dr. Nic Botha being reinstated to his regular on-call duties. Travelling nurses have been acquired in the interim to support the current staff roster. They will continue to fill in until such a time as local staffing levels improve. Registered nurse positions have been added to Oxbow’s Galloway Health Centre and all current staffing levels have been posted for recruitment.
The floor was open to questions and concerns from those in attendance. Concerns were expressed about the VP program. Individuals that stood up and spoke felt that the service was lacking in clarity and professionalism. Many who spoke said they had been directed elsewhere for further assessment and treatment.
The consensus of those that stood up was that the VP system left gaps and voids in treatment. Doctor and nurse burnout was mentioned and it is feared that without further support the staff may fall victim again.
A barbecue was held Oct. 19, in appreciation of the health-care workers and first responders. Oxbow and area honoured their services with attendance of 315 individuals to celebrate their contributions to the area’s health services. The Rapid Relief Team sponsored the meal, while the Town of Oxbow, the RM of Enniskillen and the Oxbow Health Care Auxiliary gifted all the health-care workers and first responders with a token of appreciation.
The meeting was concluded with a call for everyone to keep advocating with the MLAs and SHA. A form letter was handed out to everyone to use as a guide if needed. Brock encouraged everyone to continue to reach out with questions or concerns.
SHA also included a Client Concerns and Feedback form. This document included the contact information for Integrated Rural Health. People can call 1-855-778-7708 or email concerns or feedback to ruralclientconcerns@saskhealthauthority.ca.
