Unease In Shaunavon
Community is without doctor this holiday season
The province's new physician recruiting agency can't some soon enough for one community. For the last four months, the town of Shaunavon has been without a doctor.
The town's mayor, Sharon Dickie, says as of last week, the town's hospital has been downgraded to a health care centre. She says it's thrown the town for a loop, with health care levels changing constantly.
And that unpredictability has lead to some worried and upset residents. The doctor recruiting agency is set to be operational by early spring. Meanwhile, Shaunavon is doing all it can to attract a doctor to the town of 2,000 people.
Comments
When are we finally going to
When are we finally going to admit that to either keep our medicare system or just to have the number of doctors we're really going to need (many more than we have now) we're going to have to dig DEEP in our pockets and invest in future doctor's and nurses from here and not just grab them from some other continent (which they eventually escape back to after seeing just how really bad it is here in the med profession). We're going to have to invest in student doctors and nurses in Saskatchewan and have them pay us back by working for us for a certain number of years. I like to call it The Dr Joel Flieschman method.
more money??
50% of our provincial budget already goes to healthcare.
.
And doctors? Are among the most pampered and catered to professionals.
.
From medical school which is subsidized far more than almost any other degree, to paid internships, to guaranteed job upon graduation (shortage). Most of their trade tools are provided by the taxpayer, The provincial body limits competition through granting of licenses even. That's not to mention the competition limited by the number of seats once you get into the program at university. BC for example had 1200 apply for 200 spots in 2004. And finally it is guaranteed income. The Saskatchewan government will never default on the bill.
.
more money? I am not sure we are not already paying too much.
Big deal
Lots of towns don't have doctors. My town doesn't have a doctor either.
Big Deal?
And what would the population of your town be? Shaunavon is a large community in the area at a population around 1700. I am sure that the smaller communities around also are without a doctor now.
Techinally we have 1. He
Techinally we have 1. He just doesn't want to work 24 hours a day. (just lazy I think, lol). He also provides part time service to Climax.
.
Up until a couple weeks ago we had 3, but 2 of them were married, and got tired of working alternating nights. (no time with each other).
.
So with that going on. 17 days between Dec1 and Jan3 (most right at christmas) we will have no acute care admission at the hospital. For 10 days within that month we have Doctors from other towns providing day service at the Doctors office. Climax health center on the other hand. Is closed for the month (I think).
.
Whatever way you look at it, we are short. I do hope that local recruiters (And the new office the Saskatchewan government is setting up to help recruit doctors to the province) will be able to fill the void soon.