HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1999-02-10, Page 2Church
Services
You are intuited to attenc
these area churches
St. Thomas
Anglican Church
Jarvis St. Seaforth
Rev. Robert Hiscox
482-7861
Sunday Feb.' 14"'
Service of Morning Prayer
at 9:30 a.m.
. followed by.a Parish Brunch
CAVAN -
(Winthrop) 9:30 a.m. &
NORTHSIDE
(Godench St.,.Seatorth) 11:00 a.m
UNITED CHURCHES
Minister. Rev. Jane Kuepfer
527-2635
Guest Speaker: Melissa Whitmore
Sunday School during services.
nursery provided.
First Presbyterian
Church
Goderich St. W. Seaforth
.11:15AM •
Sunday School - dunng church
.Minister: Rev: Nicholas Vandenney
2 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, February 10, 1999
Conference deals with expected doctor shortage
BY DAVE SCOTT
Lakeshore Advance Editor
There is a projected shortage
of doctors in Ontario in the
next ten years but when it
Comes to knowing exact
..numbers of physicians at the
present or the future, it's
anybody's guess.
Area health planners met
Jan. 26 at the London
Convention Centre for a
technical • workshop on
physician recruitment
planning methods that can be
applied at the district and
regional level. The workshop
was co=sponsored by three
district health councils
including the Grey Bruce
Huron Perth DHC, Essex Kent
Lambton DHC and Thames
Valley DHC.
A number of speakers from a
variety of health organizations
spoke about how 'many
doctors there are in the
system. assessing the supply
and distribution, planning the
distribution. predicting the
number of doctors there
should be in the future and
other related topics.
Facilitator for the day was
Grey Bruce Huron Perth DHC
executive -director Jim
. Whaley.. .
Locally, Dr. Carolin
Shepherd of Seaforth attended
the 'conference as -did other
doctors from the area.
- Defining Rural Area
Boris Kralj, director of
Health Economics Research at
the Ontario • Medical
Association (OMA), said
there -'s debate over what is
rural, what is underserviced
"and even what is considered
,'north' in Ontario. •
There are different ways
used to define northern and
rural. There's postal codes.
And there's a formula of
communities with populations
less than 10,000 and more
` than 80 km from a major
urban centre.'
He referred to a program
• offered to. 20 rural;
r undcrserviced, northern
communities with three to
seven general practitioners or
family physicians each.
The program is, aimed at
retaining and attracting
doctorsand encourages
formation of a group practice.
Kralj says there's some
"innovative and progressive
components" of the plan,
including addressing "burn
• out" issues.
Major features of the plan
include: '
• guaranteed-- annual'
remuneration, 20 per cent
above provincial average
• • office overhead cost
support (S60,000 lump sum)
• bonus - payments -for.
specialized services; eg.
deliveries
• bones payment for 24-hour
emergency coverage
• time off for CME and
vacation
• maternity leave benefits
• retention bonus after three
• years of continuous` service
610.000)
• UAP incentives
"It's a fairly progressive type
of arrangement." says Kralj,
who works with the Physician
Human Resources Committee
•- a joint committee of the
OMA and the Ministry of
Health. "It was introduced for
northern communities - but
there's quite a bit of interest
(from other areas)."
The joint committee talked
about expanding that plan to
include other rural
underserviced areas and is
considering implementing it in
stages moving from north to
south in the province.
"There's talk of extending
the agreement south with
adjustments to the contract,"
said Kralj. "To expand south
we . need a better
understanding of what 'rural'
is."
He said.the population to
'physician ratios which are
used in nine of 10 provinces
for planning. were never
developed for that purpose.
The disadvantages of the
• ratios. says Kralj, is that they
assume there arc homogenous
physicians that practise the
same and have the same
amount of patients. The
numbers become more
suspect. he said, when you
look at things on a smaller
scale like by county or
municipality.
In a question and answer
session, Kralj said results
Jim Rourke of Goderich was moderator of the panel discussions during a medical •
planning seminar in London two weeks ago. On the panel are Kathleen Clements,
McMaster University; Boris Kralj, Ontario Medical Association; Peter Coyte, University
of Toronto; Jill Strachan, Canadian Institute of Health Information; and Lynda_ Buske,
Canadian Medical Assocation. DAVE SCOTT PHOTO
aren't known about the
success of the horthern plan
because it was just introduced
in November. But there's
another 19 -or 20 communities
• that want more information on
it now.
Ministry rep a no-show
A suggestion by Coyte was
for the government to award
medical school's for sending
grads to underserviced areas.
The U. of T. professor
commented on the absence of
scheduled speaker David
Salter, manager of the
Underserviced Area Program,
ffont the Ministry of Health.
He hinted some issues might
be clarified if a ministry
representative was present:
Organizers of the conference
said Salter gave no
explanation of his cancellation
other than he was "unable to
attend." No substitute was sent
in his place. .
Family physician and UWO
professor Jim Rourke of
Goderich was the moderator
of the panel discussion on
planning - what is feasibleat
the district and regional levels.
"Physician: to population
rates for county levels might
be useful information butit
doesn't reflect what goes on at
the community level," said
Coyte.
"I think you should look at
all the data =but with caution,"
said Kralj. •
Kathleen Clements, director ..
of the Health Intelligence
Group at McMaster University
said "as planners what you can
use is important. There's a
variety of different sources.
The most valuable information
you can collect is locally."
Rourke made the comment
that data is skewed if someone
goes out of their area to get '
medical service.
One doctor from London
said "I'd be inclined to talk to
doctors, nurses, etc. and then
read the papers you've
published and try to make a
pitch to the province."
A physician in the audience
asked if anyone is trying to
gather information on health
care requirements needed to
predict workload for an area.
"It seems that would be easier
information to get hold of,
then plan manpower and the
system around that," he said.
Rourke said in the 1970s,
there was a trickle-down
theory about graduatittg
physicians - that they would.
come to the country because
the city would fill up. But the
opposite happened. Doctors
just set up small practices in
the city and were able to make
a living.
"How do you get them to go
to Wawa and Wiarton when
they can go to Kitchener and
have a full practice?" asked
Rourke. Rural doctors often
have a second job beyond
their doctor practice, he said.
like emergency work or
delivering babies or G.P.
anesthesia.
Rourke, too, commented on
the absence of a Ministry of.
Health representative. "I'm
just disappointed nobody is •
here from the Ministry of
Health. Maybe they figured
out that the cheapest doctor is
no doctor at all."
. How many doctors?
Kralj's second presentation
on Access Modeling revealed
that determining how many
physicians there are now is not
as simple as it'appears.
Using Ontario physician
numbers from 1996, he
showed how fromfour
different sources, there as a
range of difference ov 1,000.
The high estimate was from
the Ministry of Health at
10,926 doctors for the
province and CIHVSoutham
estimating 9,903.
At the county level, he used
Middlesexas an example and
had three numbers that varied
more than 80 from the high
estimate to the low estimate.
The three different totals were
411, 4.67 and 378. "(Looking
at an average) Pius or minus
30 is a lot of doctors' for
Middlesex," he said.. -
According to projections.
Kralj said "we're 'going to be
facing a supply problem very
soon."' The question medical
planners should answer is
what the population needs, he
said.
More doctors will retire in
2011 than ,will open new
practices, said Danielle
Frechette of the Royal College
of Physicians and Surgeons of
Canada.
Frdchette reported that "the
age profile of the practice
population in Canada warrants
special attention, especially
since it• takes at least one-
decade
nedecade to train a specialist
from the time of entry into
medical school. Looking
ahead to 2007, certain trends
are cause for concern. For
example. more than 40 per
cent of the workforce in 22
specialty groups in Canada
will be over 65 years old."
Frechette asked if care is
now being provided in the
most effective manner. She
said her father-in-law was
recently brought to an
emergency department and
turned away because it was
too busy.
AvonDISTRICT
SCHOOL
Maitland
earning for a Lifetime
FRENCH IMMERSION
REGISTRATION
Registrations for GRADE ONE and GRADE FOUR
FRENCH IMMERSION for September 1999, will begin
immediately and end on February 19. 1999.
Contact your local Public School Principal as soon as
possible to register. Sites in the North gingham
area), Central (Clinton/Seaforth area) and South
(Stratford area) will be announced at a later date. The
Board will endeavour to provide bussing for students
where possible. -
For further information contact the Seaforth Administration Centre at
(519) 527-2266 OR 1-800-592.5437
and ask for Dianne Stevenson, ext 139
Lorne Rachlis Wendy Anderson
Director of Education Chair
Kralj said although Toronto
has. an abundance of doctors
and specialists. there is an
access problem.
Frechette doesn't, think the
future of health care -should be
built on the current status quo.
Aside from there being a
decline of doctors in the near
future, many medical school
grads are saying they don't
want the kind of schedule
doctors currently have. or
have had traditionally. "
Rourke said there are more
demands now -on physicians
from the patient side. They
want more information from
their doctors"than in the past
on the treatment they're
receiving.
There was a comment from a
doctor in the audience that 80
per cent of patients managed
in emergency rooms can he
managed by family
physicians.
Rourke said the system is
still short of physicians -and it
provides a challenge. "Perhaps
rural areas will become.
, leaders instead of followers (in
recruiting physicians)." -
"It was encouraging to see -
members of ' the health
community from Ontario
working together trying to
solve the problem of doctor
shortage," said Westlake;
representing the Zurich and
Area Health Association.
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Bethel Bible Church
An Associated Gospel Church
Meeting at Seaforth High
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11:00 Worship
Fellowship with God and others
Small Group Meetings Weekly
Pastor Doug Corriveau 522-0070
Catholic Church
Masses
Victoria St , Seaforth__
Saturday 5:15 pm
• St. James Pansh, Seaforth
Saturday - 7:15 pm.
St: Joseph's Parish. Clinton
Sunday - 900lm . a
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Sunday- 11 00 am
St. James Parish. Seaforth
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