Peachland set to lose its doctors this spring
Retirement of medical director at town’s only medical clinic will force its closure unless another doctor takes over
With its medical director planning to retire this spring, Peachland’s only medical clinic is set to close, leaving residents with no local doctors.
Dr. John Brinkerhoff, medical director of Beach Avenue Medical, has announced his retirement, effective at the end of March.
According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., one doctor must be designated as the medical director in walk-in clinics and multi-physician clinics.
If no one takes over as medical director, the Peachland clinic will have to close, and Peachland will go from having five doctors to zero.
“I was really saddened to hear that this was going to happen,” Peachland Mayor Cindy Fortin said Wednesday. “My first thought was to look into if there was something we could do as council to assist with keeping it open.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, council agreed to send a letter to Brinkerhoff expressing concerns about the closure of the clinic.
“We also directed staff to look at other small communities that are losing physicians and what they’re doing, in hopes of coming up with a solution,” said Fortin.
Losing the medical clinic, which also serves as a walkin clinic from 3 to 5 p.m., will be a blow to the community, said Fortin, adding she has been inundated with emails and phone calls from concerned residents.
“It’s hard enough finding a doctor these days, and now to have one and to lose it is really difficult for a lot of people,” she said. “We have a lot of seniors in our community that have mobility challenges, (and) it’s really difficult for them to travel to neighbouring communities.”
If no replacement is found by March 31, the town will continue to look for physicians to come to Peachland, said Fortin.
“We’ll do our best,” she said. “We’re a small town, but we’re not rural, and it seems a shame that we won’t have a medical clinic.”
Brinkerhoff could not be reached for comment by press time on Wednesday.