Medical Society said more needs to be done to retain doctors

The New Brunswick Medical Society said the government's net gain of eight doctors in Saint John is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done for the chronic problem of physician recruitment and retention in the province.

Since September 2014, 52 physicians have been hired in the Saint John region. That includes 21 general practitioners and 31 specialist. Overall, 44 doctors have left since that time.  

Dr. Dharm Singh, president-elect of the New Brunswick Medical Society, said the problem is not only recruitment but retaining doctors. He said the program requires a long-term plan which the government does not have.

"A lot more needs to be done, right?" he said. "We are all aware that our province is aging, so the demand for health care is going to more and more, we have to be proactive."

He said the problem surrounds poor working conditions in New Brunswick and lack of training centres. Only two training centres exist in New Brunswick. Dalhousie Medical School in Saint John and Centre de Formation Médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick in Moncton.

"We do not have any specialist training in this province, any specialist have been trained elsewhere," said Singh.

He said doctors are more likely to stay in the province they completed their residency in. Singh said it makes perfect sense to develop a long-term plan to help keep new doctors, both specialist and family doctors in New Brunswick. 

As well, a recent survey by the New Brunswick Medical Society showed more than 50 per cent of doctors would leave if the federal tax changes for small business were implemented.

"The level of taxes will be lower than what we have in New Brunswick," Dr. Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck formerly told CBC News about the survey response. "You've got to remember, physicians are portable and there are jobs across the border and in other places as well and so there are members considering that."

Still waiting for a doctor

Despite more than half the doctors who were surveyed saying they would leave, a study by the Corporate Research Associate said nine in 10 Atlantic Canadians have a family doctor.

The report said the number of Atlantic Canadians who currently have a family doctor remains high, however, there is a slight decrease over the past four years.

New Brunswick patients saw a two per cent decrease in the number of family doctors.

But Singh said doctors in this province need better working conditions and more resources to understand why being a doctor in New Brunswick is the right decision, something he said, hasn't been done.

"Work overload, aging population is causing more work," he said. "A long-term plan, we need look 10 years down the line."

Paul Bradley, spokesperson for the Department of Health, said recruitment is a high priority for the government. He said the government hires 90 new physicians each year. 

"New Brunswick has great hospital infrastructure, growing research and medical education opportunities."

Yet more than 21,000 residents remain on the Patient Connect wait list for a family doctor, according to Bradley.

"Recruitment is a collaborative effort between the Regional Health Authorities, the Department of Health and the NB Medical Society who all spend significant time working on this continuous process," said Bradley.