Behind ER doors: How this northeastern Ontario hospital is using non-financial incentives to recruit doctors
The central Manitoulin region in Ontario is facing a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly doctors and nurses. The Manitoulin Health Centre in Little Current and Mindemoya is operating with only half of the required number of local doctors, making the system fragile and vulnerable to closures.
Paula Fields, the president and CEO of the Manitoulin Health Centre, acknowledges the challenges the healthcare system is facing. She emphasizes the need to prioritize the well-being of physicians and nurses to ensure quality and timely care for the community. To address the shortage of doctors, the board has collaborated with First Nations and municipalities to fund a full-time physician recruiter. While no physicians have signed on yet, there is hope that this initiative will attract new medical professionals to the region.
In addition to the shortage of doctors, there is also a growing demand for nurses, leading to an increase in sick leaves among the nursing team. Fields highlights the dependence on agency nurses to keep the hospital running, which poses financial challenges. To address this issue, strategies such as hiring nurse practitioners, providing support for junior nurses, and implementing medical directives for nurses have been put in place.
Dr. Anne McDonald, one of the lead physicians at the Little Current site, shares her experience of juggling patient care, paperwork, and emergency shifts, which often results in a lack of follow-up care and personal time. She emphasizes the emotional toll of these responsibilities but acknowledges the importance of keeping the hospital open for the community.
The competition for locum physicians further adds to the challenges faced by rural hospitals. Tim Vine, the president and CEO of the Northshore Health Network, highlights the structural competition for scarce resources due to funding disparities among hospitals. While some hospitals can offer higher hourly rates to attract locum physicians, others struggle to compete, leading to closures.
Despite these challenges, there is hope on the horizon with initiatives like the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Practice Ready program, which fast-tracks the certification of internationally trained doctors. Dr. Victor Fagbuyi, an internationally trained family doctor from Nigeria, is one such doctor who has chosen to practice in Little Current as part of the program. His experience as a personal support worker and clerk in a medical office has prepared him for his role as a doctor in Canada.
As the healthcare system in the central Manitoulin region continues to grapple with staffing shortages, initiatives like the Practice Ready program offer a glimmer of hope for attracting new medical professionals to the area. With ongoing support and investment in primary care, the community can strive towards ensuring access to quality healthcare for all residents.
