'It’s a ripple effect': Physician says lack of family doctors causing system to crumble
As many medical clinics close their doors for good, medical professionals around Saskatchewan are looking for ways to meet patients' needs.
The College of Family Physicians says it takes six years to train a new doctor. They also said that fewer students are choosing to study family medicine because of drawbacks, like overhead costs.
“It’s a ripple effect, and then for those family doctors who are left behind, we are just trying to see more and more patients and help with a burden and therefore our existing patients are waiting longer and longer to see us,” college president Dr. Andries Muller said.
Experts in Saskatchewan are looking at how other provinces are handling their healthcare system. In British Columbia, they announced a new payment model where doctors would be paid depending on the complexity of the appointment, including accounting for administrative costs, rather than a flat rate per visit like in Saskatchewan.
“We’ve heard folks in Saskatchewan calling for something smaller, and saying that this absolutely needs to happen to address the issues that exist in primary care in the province right now,” NDP Health Critic Vicki Mowat said.
The Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Everett Hindley said the province had met to discuss primary care at the end of October.
“There were some discussions about the primary care working group that’s doing its work, and we’re waiting for some recommendations from that group and then we’ll make some decisions,” Hindley said.
Muller said there is a domino effect as problems in primary care spill into walk-in clinics and emergency rooms, causing overcrowded hospitals and cancelled surgeries.
“It just proves the point that the basis of a good healthcare system is a good primary care system, and so if the primary care system crumbles, the rest of the healthcare system crumbles.”
He said the best long-term solution was to bolster the primary care system, and that a team-based approach will save the province money.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.