Elected officials and health leaders talk doctor recruitment and retention

Hope Lompe

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has released a report on their Health Summit of elected officials and community health care leaders on Nov. 13. 

In the report, the RDN outlines eight recommendations for the central challenge of getting physicians to come to the area and stay long-term. 

These include advancing physician-centered practice models that reduce administrative burdens, as well as loan forgiveness and competitive compensation packages.

Gabriola area federal MP Tamara Kronis, provincial MLA Sheila Malcomson and RDN director for EA B Vanessa Craig, were present for the day of presentations and discussion on the future of healthcare for central and northern Vancouver Island. 

“I found the Summit very interesting and it was useful I think to have such a broad mix of viewpoints gathered together to discuss healthcare in our region and potential approaches for improvement,” wrote Craig in an email to the Sounder. 

“Health care touches on so many aspects – from primary family medicine, access to specialized services, mental health, and broader community health.”

MLA Malcomson says the day of presentations came to a head at the end of the day with a multi-hour conversation and workshop on recruiting and retaining physicians. 

“That of course, resonates with the work that our amazing Gabriola partners have been doing in such a focused and community specific way,” she says, and later add on Gabriola, healthcare has been able to expand in large part to community volunteers. 

“The actions of our Gabriola volunteers have really transformed access healthcare in our area at a time that the population is growing, that it is aging, and healthcare across the province, across the country, has never been under more pressure,” she says. 

“We would be so much further behind on Gabriola if that community work hadn’t been done,” referring to the community donationed land and construction of the Gabriola Medical clinic. 

Malcomson says that Nanaimo has the highest retention rate of any teaching hospital in B.C., meaning when doctors come to train here they are more likely to stay.  

“What I will take with me back to the legislature is … to remove barriers and to build up the supply of doctors. I really need to rely on those local relationships to make sure when doctors choose to come to our specific communities they’re supported,” she says. 

The invite-only event included First Nations, elected officials, First Nations Health, Island Health, local governments, hospital districts, divisions of family practice, medical staff associations, community partners and healthcare advocacy groups. 

Neither the Gabriola Health Care Foundation (GHCF) nor the Gabriola Medical Clinic were invited to send representatives. An RDN spokesperson says after seats were filled with those who contributed to the program, the few invitations left were extended to organizations that had expressed interest in attending.