You can forgive local residents for feeling a sense of d茅j脿 vu when it comes to a shortage of physicians in the community.
For the past couple of decades, we have found ourselves in a cycle in which the number of physicians has gradually declined, then recovered, only to decline again.
The Energy City is currently in a down cycle. There are eight family physicians, one specialist who sees patients, and another specialist whose focus is on his specialty.
Let鈥檚 be clear: it鈥檚 great that Estevan has specialists. They play an essential role in delivering healthcare in our community, and we鈥檙e in an envious position to have them.
But we also know that eight family physicians is not enough for a community of this size.
It鈥檚 a rosier picture than what we faced in 2011, when you could count the number of medical doctors in the community on one hand, and doctors came to Estevan in the short-term to help with the situation. But many in the community find it frustrating that we鈥檙e once again in this cycle.
If we were alone, or in a small minority with a need for more doctors, then it would be easy to assign blame for our current shortage. But we鈥檙e not. Other communities face the same challenges, trying to recruit doctors to serve their residents.
And many of them have gone through the same cycles as Estevan.
It鈥檚 not as easy as saying 鈥渞ecruit more doctors.鈥澛�
This really is a two-fold issue, with both recruitment and retention. Bringing them to a community is hard enough, since physician recruitment is a competitive environment with so many communities looking for doctors. But once you get them here, it鈥檚 tough to keep them here, because there鈥檚 no shortage of communities looking to take our doctors away.
It鈥檚 tough for a community like Estevan to compete with a large city facing a doctor shortage of its own.
There are certain things that we can offer that large centres can鈥檛, such as short commutes and a small town feel. But a physician who views Estevan as a stepping stone will likely eventually move to another community, regardless of what we have to offer.
We have a great hospital with excellent staff and improving technology, such as a CT scanner. We have excellent schools for those who have families or are looking to start a family. We have good options for sports, recreation and culture.
It would have been nice for Estevan to get a medical residency program that it was fighting for, but that hasn鈥檛 materialized.
The provincial government touts the new Saskatchewan Health Authority as a solution to physician shortages for communities, but we haven鈥檛 heard much, in terms of specifics, for how the new authority will help bring more doctors to communities like Estevan that need them.
And there is relief coming locally. A couple new physicians have been recruited to come to Estevan, but they won鈥檛 be here until the spring. Hopefully they鈥檒l represent long-term solutions to our physician shortage.
But those tasked with health-care recruitment and retention can鈥檛 rest. They have to continue to press to bring more doctors to the community, and to retain the ones who are here practicing in Estevan.
