It appears that Clearwater’s doctor shortage might finally be coming to an end.
According to a letter to The Times editor from Clearwater physician Dr. John Soles, as of the end of September Clearwater should have five doctors filling four positions.
Two new physicians, Dr. Mark Walton and Dr. Alice Gwyn, will begin practicing in Clearwater in May.
Walton and Gwyn worked in the community as locums in the summer of 2012. The two will share one full-time position.
Soles noted that Dr. Cristina Liciu is currently in her last months of residency training at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. She will do the last six weeks of her residency in Clearwater in June and July under Soles’ supervision. Dr. Liciu is expected to join the practice on a full-time basis in mid-September.
Dr. Steven Broadbent, who started work in Clearwater last November after coming to the community from England, is back to work full-time. Apparently he had an unfortunate mishap on the Clearwater ski hill on Jan. 1.
“He has been forbidden to go on ski-hills until next season,” Soles said. “He makes no guarantees about mountain biking however.”
The doctor situation in Clearwater has been in a crisis mode for at least six years, with the community down to just two and then one permanent physician for quite some time.
Two doctors from South Africa assisted for a while, but one returned home and the other retired.
