Health Minister takes questions on doctor shortage, rural healthcare

A lack of doctors in Saskatchewan, requirements for international doctors to practice in Saskatchewan and improving rural health care access were some of the hot-button topics tackled during a live health care question-and-answer session with the provincial health minister on Wednesday.

The Evan Bray Show opened up phone lines on April 22, giving listeners a chance to ask their healthcare questions directly to Saskatchewan’s Health Minister, Jeremy Cockrill.

A major source of concern repeatedly mentioned by callers was the province’s lack of doctors.

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One caller asked why international doctors need to write an extra exam to practice in Saskatchewan when there’s already a shortage of physicians.

In response, Cockrill said, “there’s a patient safety aspect to this.

“We want to make sure that if a student does get training in another country, that they’re going to be trained properly and ready to come back and service Canadian patients,” he said.

According to Cockrill, though, Saskatchewan has increased the number of countries where doctors, “can come back from without having to write significantly more exams.”

Another caller, who identified herself as an international doctor, said after passing a national exam, foreign physicians need to wait eight to 10 weeks to get their license in Saskatchewan. In comparison, she said Ontario does it in 48 hours.

“There are barriers. We need to reduce them. We have reduced some, but there’s more to kind of cut down to make sure that we can make it as easy as possible to come and practice in Saskatchewan,” Cockrill said in response.

He explained that the province is pouring energy into recruiting physicians from the United Kingdom and Ireland, sending teams over in May and later this fall.

“We think there’s some really good opportunities there,” he said.

Rural healthcare

A Facebook user wanted to know what’s being done to improve rural access to healthcare.

Cockrill explained how the government modified the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment. Through that program, the province supports international medical graduates by making sure their training is up to national standards.

In exchange for the investment from the province, those graduates are expected to stay in the province for three years.

“We’ve made some changes just recently on increasing the buyout numbers, so that, you know, we’re making it harder for doctors to leave in that three-year return of service,” Cockrill said.

As well, according to the minister, all of Saskatchewan’s residency seats are filled this year – including all those in rural parts of the province.

“We’ve had years where we’ve struggled to match in certain areas,” he said.

Healthcare workers’ contracts

On top of recruitment, Cockrill spoke about changes being made in the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to improve retention.

His response came after one caller stated multiple physicians had left the province because the SHA didn’t provide them with contracts.

“There is a much closer eye being put to this specific area (in) the SHA, just in recent months,” Cockrill said, referring to awareness of soon-to-expire contracts and ensuring doctors are given contract renewal options.

One texter asked if there’s a timeline for a meaningful and fair deal with healthcare workers, who’ve gone four years without a contract.

“In terms of a timeline, I would say there has been some good progress in recent weeks and months at the bargaining table. There’s lots of thorny issues to get through, but I know we’ve added more bargaining dates,” Cockrill said.

Cockrill added that he’s pushing to narrow the government’s and employers priorities to speed up the process.

Violence in hospitals

During the hour-long segment, Cockrill also addressed how – despite metal detectors being in eight facilities across the province – weapons are still getting through.

“Obviously, if somebody arrives by an ambulance, it’s hard to put them through a metal detector,” he said.

The province is completing a review, according to Cockrill, to understand what else needs to be done to improve safety in Saskatchewan hospitals.