September 26, 2003

The Assiniboine Regional Health Authority (ARHA) has successfully recruited three new doctors to start this fall and has made conditional offers to five others to help fill vacancies in the communities and facilities it serves, Health Minister Dave Chomiak announced today.

"The ARHA should be congratulated for working tirelessly to fill its doctor vacancies," said Chomiak.

Penny Sorensen, chief executive officer of the ARHA, said the region continues to work hard to create an environment that makes it attractive for rural health providers, including physicians, to settle and stay in rural communities.

Sorensen added that priority will be placed on filling positions in communities that need doctors most in an effort to maintain, improve and enhance health services in rural communities.

She cautioned that the recruitment process involves many steps which will take time. There may be temporary disruptions in service while doctors successfully complete the necessary exams and make necessary arrangements to settle in the region.

Chomiak said he wants to assist the region’s efforts by expanding the review of doctor recruitment and retention in the Assiniboine Region to allow for more community participation in the process.

"While the efforts by the ARHA are encouraging, there remains a real need to solve the long-term issues that result in service reductions in rural health facilities," he said.

The minister has requested the Office of Rural and Northern Health to oversee an expanded review of the issues facing rural health facilities. The minister is providing one-time resources to the office for the review that will include both a physician review component and community participation.

Dr. David Cram, who originally was asked to conduct the review, has stepped aside because of the impact the additional workload would have on his practice.

"Dr. Cram has proven to be a valuable resource because of his commitment to rural medicine and his insight has helped us kick-start the process," Chomiak said. "However, the expanded scope of this review will make it difficult for a doctor with a demanding workload to go to all the communities that need to be consulted."

The expanded review will be completed by the end of the year.

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