“It’s going to get better by the fall,”
That’s from Vanderhoof Mayor Kevin Moutray when talking about the doctor shortage.
He noted one is coming back from a sabbatical while the other will be setting up shop by the end of summer.
While Moutray acknowledges a shortage does exist, the district is doing all it can to make life easier for the ones they do have.
“As a district we are working on it. We actually bought a house last year and we provide that to Northern Health and they rent it off just to house locums and to try make that a little easier.”
“It has been encouraging, there have been more incentives for locums recently to make a little more attractive to get here as well as paying more for some of the travel and those sorts of things.”
He says important the doctors they do have are well rested and keep to their 12-hour schedules.
“We’ve had a lot of success and have a strong doctor group. We have been successful in attraction and retention and we help out as much as we can within the district. But there is a general shortage of doctors out there and it’s going to be felt right across the field when you are trying to get in,” added Moutray.
Last week, Emergency Department Services at the St. John Hospital was interrupted due to a gap in physician coverage.
–Files by Brendan Pawliw, My Prince George Now