Better stay healthy because doctor supply in B.C. is about to get a whole lot worse

Patients having trouble finding doctors haven’t seen anything yet, suggests a study by B.C. researchers

PAMELA FAYERMAN

Published on: December 10, 2017 | Last Updated: December 11, 2017 4:32 PM PST

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Patients having trouble finding doctors — or waiting too long to see specialists and get treatment — haven’t seen anything yet, suggests a study by B.C. researchers that was published Monday.

That’s because about 40 per cent of B.C. doctors are at — or near — the average age that doctors retire, 65.1. And to exacerbate things, the study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that 40 per cent of doctors reduce their workload at least 10 per cent in the three years before they retire.

The problem is particularly acute for patients preferring female doctors or living in rural areas. Female physicians tend to retire four years before male doctors, and on average, rural doctors retire just over two years earlier.

It is hypothesized that rural doctors may retire earlier because of burnout or because of lower cost of living but regardless, “early retirement in these communities is of particular concern, given that many rural areas are known to have substantial difficulties recruiting and retaining physicians,” says the team of authors from the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

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News Release – Princeton Health Care Steering Committee

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November 24, 2017
submitted by Edward Staples

Report on the November meeting of the Princeton Health Care Steering Committee
On Tuesday, November 21, the Princeton Health Care Steering Committee (PHCSC) held its monthly meeting at Princeton General Hospital. The PHCSC was formed in 2013 to provide a mechanism for Interior Health, the Town of Princeton, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, Cascade Clinic, Princeton General Hospital, and community organizations to work together to support stable, sustainable and accessible health care in Princeton.

This month’s meeting was attended by representatives from the Town of Princeton, Area H (RDOS), Cascade Medical practitioners, Princeton General Hospital staff, Interior Health, BC Ambulance Services, Princeton and District Community Services, Princeton Family Services, RCMP, and Support Our Health Care (SOHC). The meeting was chaired by Interior Health administrator, Susan Brown.

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