The doctor shortage dilemma in Chase continues.
Chase’s Doctor Recruitment Committee reports that Dr. Gursharan Gill has decided to leave Chase in July, so the committee’s mission is now a little more urgent.
Dr. Cornel Barnard, who appointed the committee, will try his best to ensure the hours of operation at the Chase Clinic and Health Centre will remain unchanged.
The Interior Health Authority is recruiting locums to work in the area, and IHA will continue recruitment efforts to permanently fill the two positions in Chase. The nurse practitioner’s present work arrangements will not be affected.
The committee’s strategies to attract another family physician to Chase include regional media coverage, and contact with four medical schools in B.C. and two schools in Alberta.
IHA continues to advertise the position in medical journals and throughout their websites.
The committee reports it has developed promotional packages for physicians as they tour the site, and it is in the process of creating a DVD featuring the clinic, medical centre and other health-related facilities in Chase. Other new opportunities are being explored as well.
To date, four family physicians have toured the medical clinic and health centre. Another physician remarked she wished she had known of this vacancy before signing her current contract.
The committee received a report from a local citizen who, while on holiday, met an ex- pat Canadian and his wife – a family physician. They are interested in returning to Canada.
The Chase citizen capitalized on the situation by providing them with particulars on the opportunity in Chase. Contact information was exchanged and forwarded to a member of the team. Although unsuccessful at present, the committee hopes this contact will have favourable results in the future and is appreciative of the citizen’s efforts.
In the meantime, the committee feels its strategies are working and it hopes to achieve its goal in the very near future.
Forward questions and/or suggestions to Sarah Turgeon-O’Brien at Dr. Cornel Barnard’s clinic, 250-679-1422.
