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A shortage of doctors is having a real effect on patients in Prince George TED CLARKE Citizen Staff
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
The Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre at Parkwood Place recently changed its operating model, which has affected people without a family doctor.
system depends on how many physician hours are available, and the Achilles heel right now is that there just aren’t many doctors,” Grobbelaar said. “Right now, there are fewer than a handful participating on a regular basis.” Years ago, when the Nechako Medical Clinic was thriving, each doctor could see
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six to 10 urgent care patients per hour. Today, that number is closer to four. Physicians used to earn a premium for working evenings and weekends— more than they could make anywhere else. That incentive disappeared under the current provincial contract, where doctors now earn less than they would
in other settings. Two years ago, BC replaced the feefor-service model with the Longitudinal Family Physician (LFP) payment model, aimed at better compensating family doctors for time spent with patients. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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Every day at the Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre, patients who need a prescription, treatment for a wound or relief from a minor ailment are first assessed by a nurse who determines the urgency of their case. The triage system works well — when there are enough doctors to provide care. But at the Prince George clinic, there are not nearly enough physicians signing up for shifts. Barend Grobbelaar, former chair of the Nechako Medical Group, which operated the clinic for 33 years, no longer represents the group. Speaking as an individual, he says he is deeply concerned that so few of the city’s 70 family doctors are volunteering to cover urgent care shifts at the clinic, located in Parkwood Place. “The ability to get through the triage
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