By Joel van der Veen
August 30, 2010

DAVIDSON - The MLA for Arm River-Watrous said Thursday that the province's new Physician Recruitment Agency will be a great help for smaller communities that struggle to attract doctors.

But Greg Brkich also added that the agency can't fix everything right away.

"This wasn't a problem that came overnight," he said. "It's a problem that's not going to go away."

Brkich, a member of the governing Saskatchewan Party, said the agency was created to address the province's increasing doctor shortage, which has affected rural communities and larger cities alike.

"Before, it was almost up to the towns to do the recruitment," he said. "The government wants to help in any way they can."

On Aug. 19, provincial health minister Don McMorris reported the hiring of Edward Mantler as the first CEO for the new agency, first announced in March as a means of enhancing, coordinating and supporting recruitment efforts across the province.

"We are pleased to have attracted a candidate with Mr. Mantler's dedication to health leadership and health management experience," McMorris said in a statement.

But Judy Junor, health critic for the provincial NDP, said the government's plans were of little reassurance to smaller communities facing hardships in retaining and attracting doctors.

"I don't see anything new for those communities," she said, speaking to The Davidson Leader on Aug. 26. "No help is on the way."

Junor, the MLA for Saskatoon Eastview, said she spent much of this summer touring the province and visiting local communities, many of which were struggling to maintain health services because of the doctor shortage. The towns were forced to think of incentives and other means of bringing in new physicians.

While many of these towns have lots of attractive features, she said, not being able to provide basic medical services will eventually mean a population decline.

"Everybody has a very high interest in the health of their community," she said. "Many are afraid of their communities dying."

Junor's tour this summer included visits to Leader, Coronach, Spiritwood and Big River, among other places. As she continued her visits, she began hearing from other communities who also wanted her to visit and hear their concerns.

"It's really been a very very worthwhile summer," she said.

Meanwhile, Brkich said Mantler, most recently the senior operating officer at the University of Alberta Hospital, planned to observe how other countries and regions were attracting doctors and make recommendations to communities on how to maintain their medical services. Mantler will also work closely with the College of Medicine.

While Davidson currently enjoys the services of a full-time doctor, Brkich said, the situation could change quickly.

"We're lucky Davidson has one doctor," he said. "But if that doctor leaves, then you're scrambling for another doctor."

Brkich said the government's focus was on creating a long-range solution to the problem, dealing with the current situation before it evolves into a full-blown crisis.

"I am pleased to be working with the Physician Recruitment Agency of Saskatchewan," Mantler said in a statement. "Coming from a prairie province I understand the important role of the agency in retaining Saskatchewan's medical graduates and acting as a one-stop point of contact for physicians seeking to set up practice in the province."

Prior to his work at the University of Alberta, Mantler was the director of medical access and innovation in the Calgary Health Region. He is also a surveyor with the peer review agency Accreditation Canada.

"We need to be innovative if we are to succeed in attracting more physicians to Saskatchewan and convince more of our medical graduates to set up their practices here," Dr. Femi Olatunbosun, a member of both the recruitment agency board and the College of Medicine, said in a statement. "Having Mr. Mantler's headquarters near the College of Medicine will help him connect with our students and residents while they are still considering where they will practice medicine."

The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada.