One of the key points of the Sun Country Health Region's open board meeting on March 27 was recruitment, particularly of physicians. There is a lack of physicians across the health region and Weyburn is no exception.
One of the key points of the Sun Country Health Region's open board meeting on March 27 was recruitment, particularly of physicians.
There is a lack of physicians across the health region and Weyburn is no exception.
According to demographics, the health region would like to have 12 to 13 physicians for Weyburn.
There are currently nine and some are part-time or would like to be, and there are also concerns about pending maternity leaves and retiring physicians.
"We know there's a lot of people looking for a physician in the Weyburn area now," said Marga Cugnet, Sun Country Health Region CEO, but added that the area has been lucky, as Estevan's physician shortage is much more severe.
"The number one key strategy for this year is physician recruitment," she said.
The physician completing SIPPA (Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment) who was supposed to arrive in Weyburn on March 25 has been delayed and there is no guarantee he will return.
Cugnet said the doctor had to return to his country to handle family matters and it is unknown if or when he will return.
"We're hoping he comes back," said Cugnet.
The next two SIPPA clinics to train new doctors arriving from other countries are scheduled to begin in May and September and there is a physician slotted for Weyburn in each.
If all goes according to plan, the first will complete her training in August and will be the first physician at a new clinic which is set to be completed in the same month. The second physician, coming to Weyburn in December, will go to the Weyburn Medical Clinic.
Cugnet said the goal is to have the new clinic built and operational by August 2013. The health region is in the process of putting in a request for funding. A location is yet to be chosen, plans still need to be drawn up, and a budget must be set.
She said the health region is hoping the new clinic helps attract new physicians to the area and is hoping to have three to four physicians working from the clinic as well as a nurse practitioner and other health professionals such as a nutritionist or possibly a mental health professional.
Part of the attraction of the new clinic is the new pay structure offered to physicians who practice there.
Physicians working in the Weyburn Medical Clinic are paid on a fee-for-service model, with a certain amount being paid per patient, per service. Physicians working under this method are responsible for more of their business costs.
Some physicians prefer a salaried form of payment which provides the doctors a set amount of pay for service during a contract length and this is what is going to be offered at the new clinic.
Under contract, physicians are responsible for fewer of their business costs and responsibilities and the health region assumes them.
"We're finding our younger doctors do prefer it," said Cugnet, referring to the contract option.
Sun Country Health Region also wants to establish a marketing program at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and increase public understanding of the recruitment process.
Weyburn had a staffing shortage in the nutrition and food services department also, but the necessary posts have been filled. Rural areas, including Fillmore, are still having trouble with this area though.
Cugnet also said the Health Region is continuing to work with the province and Weyburn on the hospital project.
"The health region supports that Weyburn needs a new hospital," said Cugnet, who added they are waiting on the "go ahead" to begin.
Surgery wait times in the health region have been reduced to six months, but only 20 patients have had to wait more than three months, as of Feb. 17.
In other important news, Sun Country Health Region is on budget for 2012 and has a surplus. It is also investing in systems that are expected to improve efficiency and reduce costs. These include an electronic materials management information system, paperless pay statements, an electronic Human Resources Workflow Management and Self Serve system, and streamlining management duties, especially the hiring process.
The Radville Marian Health Centre is 57 per cent complete. Construction on the facility began in the fall of 2011.
