Recruiting agreement signed
P.E.I. health minister says agreement will allow doctors attract other doctors
The P.E.I. government has inked a deal with the Medical Society of P.E.I. aimed at pushing doctors to attract other doctors to practice on the Island.
The agreement comes after an election pledge by the Progressive Conservatives to “include doctors recruiting doctors” and to focus recruiting on rural areas. The agreement will see MSPEI study best practices for recruitment in other regions and present a recruitment model to government by March 31, 2020.
“Improving how we recruit physicians to the province is a priority for me and for this government,” Health Minister James Aylward said in a statement.
“We started meeting with the medical society to discuss how we can work together early in my mandate.”
Dr. David Bannon, president of MSPEI, said the organization plans to contract a physician to co-manage the study, and will hire a “well-known consultant” as part of the study.
Bannon said there is evidence that using physicians in recruitment is the most effective strategy.
When asked what would be different from current recruitment efforts, Bannon said results would improve with more input from physicians.
“Much of the process that's currently been in place has become fragmented over time. It's hard to identify need, it's hard to identify who's going to take responsibility for what part of the process," Bannon said.
The Department of Health currently has a recruitment and retention secretariat office, with a staff of six.
"The people who [work with] the recruitment and retention secretariat, that are currently working there, deserve a lot of credit for the work they have done," Bannon said.
"But, of course, we're still struggling. So, we have to figure out a way collectively to build on what's already being done and improve it."
A survey, conducted by MSPEI in February 2019, found that 56 per cent of Island physicians plan to either retire, leave the Island or reduce their workload within five years. There are currently 16,193 people without a family doctor on P.E.I.
Robert Henderson, health critic for the Liberal party, suggested the timing of the agreement suggested a lack of urgency from the government on the issue of doctor shortages.
"By that time, they will be about a year into their mandate and they still have no direction or recommendation to go forward on recruiting," Henderson said.
"What is impeding physicians from recruiting physicians today?" Henderson, a former Minister of Health under the previous government, said recruiting physicians is a complicated task. Some prospective physicians may only want to work in Charlottetown while the likelihood of others practicing locally may depend upon their spouse finding a job in their profession locally.
He said the main factors involved in recruiting often come down to competitive pay for doctors and effective outreach in Canada and internationally by recruiting staff.
In a press release on Jan. 9, Opposition health critic Trish Altass of the Green Party suggested the province should focus more on retaining existing physicians.
“It is one thing to recruit a doctor, but that is simply not enough. We need to support our healthcare professionals, give them opportunities to grow and expand in their careers, and to be fully involved in decision making processes,” Altass said.