'It makes me angry': Saskatoon clinic shuts down amid family doctor shortage
Krysta Arsenault has been a patient at Broadway Family Physicians since it’s been open but walked out the doors for the last time on Wednesday.
Arsenault says her doctor delivered both her babies and was disappointed to hear the clinic would be closing, especially knowing there’s a family doctor shortage across the country.
“We have huge issues with doctors in this city, and it’s not the doctors themselves,” she told CTV News outside the clinic.
A voicemail for the clinic says its last day is Wednesday. The office manager declined an interview with CTV News and gave no reasons for the closure.
The voicemail says some of the family doctors are retiring while others are leaving family medicine for another practice.
Arsenault has been hunting for a new family doctor but hasn’t managed to find anybody, leaving her “very disappointed.”
She says the owners are the ones at Broadway Family Physicians who are deciding to close the clinic, not the doctors.
“It makes me angry, forsure it does. I am mad at the owners, don’t know who they are, so it’s faceless, right? But I also think it’s a bigger issue,” Arsenault said.
Doctor Decline
According to data from the College of Family Physicians in Canada, Saskatchewan is one of the provinces that lost the most family doctors per capita in the last couple of years.
Between 2019 and 2021, the province lost 65 family doctors, a loss of 6.4 per cent.
“I think it backups the reality of what we’ve been seeing as clinicians and what patients have been experiencing,” said family physician Dr. Adam Ogieglo.
Ogieglo says the healthcare system hasn’t been able to respond to the challenges that exist in operating a family practice, adding the problem will spread to walk-in clinics.
“I think that’s where we’re going to see a lot of these unattached patients go to seek out care, so there’s going to be longer wait times as people use those services,” Ogieglo said.
Dr. Andries Muller, president of the Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians says the data doesn’t specify why the number of family doctors is declining, but says team-based care to offload the work from physicians is something that would help.
“Many of them feel overwhelmed and overburdened, so they’re slowing down their practices. If (they’re) practicing five days a week, they’re starting to practice three or four days a week.”
During Question Period on Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe defended the province’s actions.
“This past year there's been an increase of 107 physicians across the province of Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, 51 family physicians, 56 specialists working in our healthcare system," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.