'We will be down to one doctor': Saskatchewan offers $200K bonus for rural physicians
The Government of Saskatchewan is offering physicians a $200,000 bonus to work in rural areas.
The bonus will be spread out over five years to fill positions where recruitment has been a challenge.
Premier Scott Moe announced the boost to the rural physician incentive program during the annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) on Wednesday.
Moe called it the “most ambitious and aggressive” incentive program in Canada.
It marks a significant increase over the previous incentive of $47,000 the province was offering. Another change to the program is that a physician must sign on for five years instead of four.
Pamela Bartlett is hopeful the program will address the healthcare shortage in her community of Enniskillen, located in southeastern Saskatchewan.
“It’s crisis in our area right now,” Bartlett, who works as the RM’s chief administrative officer, told CTV News.
She says nurses are working double shifts because there’s no backfill.
“We’ve had so many overtime hours, and nursing burnouts. It’s been quite a concern in our community,” Bartlett said.
“Just as of last week, we found out that two out of our three doctors are leaving. So we will be down to one doctor.”
To fill the healthcare gaps in remote communities, Saskatchewan’s Health Minister Paul Merriman announced plans to hire physician assistants.
Merriman compared physician assistants to army medics.
“They can do almost everything that a doctor can do,” Merriman told the crowd at the SARM meeting.
A doctor must sign-off on the physician assistant’s treatment, but Merriman said that sign-off can be done virtually — which would be ideal for rural communities.
“This is something that's new to Saskatchewan. It's being done in Manitoba. It's being done in Ontario. And we're working very hard to get those physician assistants specifically to go out to rural Saskatchewan, and also work in our emergency rooms, because that's exactly what they're trained for,” he said.
While Bartlett is optimistic in the government’s recruitment ideas, she worries about retention.
“Because it’s not just about recruitment it’s also about retention. So, yes, we can get them here, but how can we keep them here?” Bartlett told CTV News.
The premier believes once a healthcare worker comes to Saskatchewan, they’ll stay.
“Loves the community, loves the people and absolutely wants to stay there because their kids have started school,” Moe told reporters, following his announcement.
The new rural physician incentive program opens April 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.