NEW GLASGOW, N.S.
Doctors fix problems.
“If someone is having a heart attack, we can treat it pretty damn good,” says Dr. James MacLachlan.
Lately, doctors in Pictou County have diagnosed a problem in the health system. As they talked with each other they shared their concerns about a troubling trend. Doctors are looking to retire, but there’s not enough people coming to fill their positions.
“Right now in our area we’re hemorrhaging – having a heart attack – in terms of medical man power. It’s as simple as that,” MacLachlan said.
With fewer doctors, great strain is placed on walk-in clinics and emergency departments and there’s a risk of burnout for those trying to fill the voids.
In an effort to address the issue, MacLachlan, who is medical site lead at the Aberdeen Hospital, and Dr. Brad MacDougall, who is president of the Medical Staff Association, called a meeting on May 30. In attendance were doctors, politicians and community leaders. They didn’t just talk – they came up with a plan.
A position will be created to assist the Nova Scotia Health Authority with recruiting medical staff to Pictou County. The position will operate with a budget of $150,000 with 30 per cent paid for by the Aberdeen Health Foundation, 30 per cent by Pictou County’s Municipal Units and 30 per cent from private businesses and individuals, including doctors.
The operational part of it is the responsibility of a group within the Citizens for a Healthy Pictou County while the governance part of it is coming out of the Medical Staff Association subcommittee.
The goal is to have the position set up as soon as possible and the group is currently putting out the request to municipalities seeking their support.
Murray Hill, president of Citizens for a Healthy Pictou County, stressed the position is not a recruitment job, but rather to assist the recruiter currently working for the Nova Scotia Health Authority. The advantage is that this person will have direct knowledge of specific features and resources within Pictou County.
Hill sees the role as three pronged. First, they’ll assist with sharing information that would be of interest to doctors considering the area. For instance, a doctor might have kids who want to play soccer, a spouse who enjoys swimming or an interest in golfing.
“We should be able to provide you all the information on that before you arrive,” Hill said.
Another key element he believes is assisting with retention by helping families of doctors make connections in the community. Very often, with doctors working long hours, he said their families can feel isolated.
“We want to make sure that the spouse doesn’t end up sitting in an apartment somewhere,” he said.
The third responsibility the person hired for the position will have is to keep track of students from Pictou County who are studying the medical field with a goal of keeping in contact with them and informing them about opportunities in their home community.
“We have a lot of Pictou County students that are in some form of medical training,” Hill said. “We want to establish and maintain contact with them.”
MacLachlan believes the provincial announcement about the establishment of a residency program in the Northern Zone will also be a key way to help address the need of doctors in this area.
“That will basically mean we’ll be training for family practice or primary care in our own bailiwick.”
Those who are trained in a particular area tend to feel more comfortable staying there, he said.
He believes the two biggest areas of need are primary care and psychiatry.
“If we get those back to where they should be, we’ll be fine,” he said.
Hill is quick to admit there’s no quick fix to the doctor shortage.
“If there was an easy answer to any of this it would be done,” he said.
But he believes this is a great first step in reversing the trend. Of all the success stories they examined all had a community involvement that made it work.
“We decided we would try our best to replicate that success,” he said.
As councils debate whether or not to contribute funding, Hill hopes they’ll consider the need. “It’s a three-legged stool,” he said of the financial contributions.
He believes a unified effort will also send a positive message to those looking at the area as a future home.
Michelle Ferris, executive director of the Aberdeen Health Foundation, sees it as a positive step.
“I just think it’s such an incredible opportunity for our community to come together in a way that this community is very well known for – for banding together and developing the support and welcome mat for attracting the professionals to our community that we need.”
