Tentative deal with doctors aims to address physician shortage, retention issues in Manitoba

Doctors Manitoba and the provincial government have reached a tentative agreement that includes a $268-million funding boost and initiatives to help address physician shortages and retention issues over the next four years.

The tentative physician services agreement covers physician pay and funds to operate their medical practices, including costs for staff, equipment, supplies and clinic space, among other expenses.

It also includes a number of targeted funding increases to help doctor retention and recruitment in rural and northern areas, including remote First Nations, the Manitoba government said in a news release on Thursday.

"This will only translate to our population of Manitobans. Doctors hope this historic increase in funding will make it easier for them to access the care they need," said Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky in a Zoom news conference on Thursday.

"By recruiting more doctors and stabilizing physicians' practices, we're hopeful that this will help see stabilization in the ER, surgical wait times will decrease — we're hoping more Manitobans will be able to find a family physician, and we hope that patients and physicians will find they can spend more time on complex medical concerns."

The tentative funding announced Thursday is on top of the amount already budgeted for doctors, which is about $1.4 billion, said Keir Johnson, the director of communications and strategy for Doctors Manitoba.

He said this physician services agreement is 10 times more than the last one negotiated with the province in 2019 when doctors saw a $23 million funding boost.

The funding also includes more resources to address the ongoing surgical and diagnostic backlog, the province's news release said.

The task force created to tackle that issue said in April that it's eliminated backlogs in 10 of its roughly 30 focus areas and made significant progress in five others, which have been cut by 47 to 94 per cent.

CBC News has requested a more recent update on the current backlog from the province.

The new doctors deal also aims to attract more physicians to inpatient and emergency departments.

The agreement includes a new family medicine funding model intended to increase the number of patients doctors keep on their panels and boost the time they spend with clients who have chronic and complex medical needs.

It also introduces a permanent funding model for virtual visits, so Manitoba patients can continue to get care by phone or video.

The deal also includes increased funding with market adjustments and a special retention payment in the first year, plus compounding two per cent annual general increases in the three remaining years of the agreement, which will expire on March 31, 2027.

The current agreement expired on March 31.

Boroditsky said the board has recommended the tentative agreement to members.

The deal must be ratified by Manitoba doctors. That's anticipated to be done by Aug. 14.

NDP Union Station MLA and health critic Uzoma Asagwara pointed out this funding boost comes after Manitoba experienced its worst recorded doctor shortage last year, and after a clinic in Brandon shut down its walk-in services because of a shortage of physicians.

The funding boost announced Thursday won't reverse the years of cuts that have left thousands of Manitobans waiting for health care, Asagwara said in an email.