Rural Newfoundland suffers from lack of medical personnel
The fierce fight for doctors continues.
According to the provincial medical association, severe staff shortages have left a quarter of the population of rural Newfoundland communities without a family doctor, up from 11 percent in 2012. Fogo Island on the North Shore lost its only full-time physician for the first time in 200 years this spring, and in the town of Bonavista, shortages of medics led to the temporary closure of emergency services.
The situation is worsening as barriers to hiring new employees accumulate, including infrastructure problems and a general shortage of doctors nationwide.
The completion in 2019 of a provincial credentialing program that attracted immigrants only made matters worse. After 1997, the Clinical Skills Assessment and Training Program brought more than fifty doctors trained outside Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador. But that protocol was replaced by the Practice Readiness Assessment Program, which eliminated the province's facilitated licensing process and deprived the region of an undeniable advantage for foreign health professionals.
Residents have had to fight for access to medical care on their own. When Bell Island lost its last family doctor six months ago, its patients created a social media page called The Bell Island Grand Seduction. It collected dozens of rave reviews about Firas Ayar, who had worked on the island for nearly 10 years. The measure worked: the doctor temporarily returned, but, unable to negotiate an acceptable long-term contract, left again for Ontario.
Islanders have no hard feelings toward him: "No one can blame a doctor for refusing to take on a load that used to be shared by three."
The provincial government promises reforms to the health care system, including new plans to attract and retain doctors. It is noted that the old salary model is becoming less and less attractive, so a major modernization of the salary system is planned.
There are also plans to create new immigration pathways for graduates of international medical universities.
Provincial Premier Andrew Furey, himself a physician, intends to make a dramatic change, but in the face of fierce competition for doctors in the Atlantic regions, it will not be easy.
