Closure of city clinic a symptom of doctor shortage

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2023 (717 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A north Main Street medical clinic is closing it doors, forcing hundreds of patients to find a new family doctor or seek treatment at the other end of the city — a symptom of a physician shortage that is expected to get worse.

The announcement from Rivergrove Medical Centre is just the latest example of a troubling situation in the province. New data released earlier this week from the Canadian Institute for Health Information revealed Manitoba has the lowest number of family doctors, per capita, in the country and the second-lowest number of physicians overall.

The clinic, which has operated for years in a strip mall at 2605 Main St., at the northwest edge of the city, is closing Dec. 23.

“This was a difficult decision to come to, but with rising costs and the scarcity of family physicians, it is no longer possible to maintain the clinic space,” a notice on the clinic’s website says.

Dr. Kevin Saunders, who owns the clinic, could not be reached for comment. The online notice says Saunders will “be settling into a well deserved retirement.”

Two of the other four doctors at the clinic will, as of Jan. 1, be practising at Sage Creek Medical Clinic at the southeast end of the city, where existing Rivergrove patients are welcome to book appointments, the notice advises.

The other two have not yet determined their relocation plans, but intend to maintain their current patient rosters, it adds.

There is no information specifically directed to the needs of Saunders’ patients after Dec. 23.

There was a “for lease” sign on the clinic window and a sign on the door explaining the closure Friday when Lenore Davies arrived, hoping to find a doctor accepting new patients. The 76-year-old said it was “discouraging” to see her neighbourhood losing the clinic.

“Everyone’s going south,” Davies said. “We’re not going to have doctors in the North End; it’s crazy. I feel like saying, ‘Why? Why can’t you stay here? There’s enough patients that would need you here.’”

Dr. Candace Bradshaw, past president of Doctors Manitoba and a co-owner of a medical clinic on Corydon Avenue, said the closure is a clear indication of what’s happening now when doctors want to retire.

“I’m not surprised at all a clinic is just shutting down,” Bradshaw said. “Trying to find a physician to take over, find a person to sign a lease and retain the staff is hard. It used to be routine. It used to be physicians would break down the door to join us… that would never happen now.

“Things have changed very drastically.”

Doctors Manitoba has been tracking physician movements for years and recently released survey results showing 51 per cent of practitioners in the province plan to retire, leave the province or reduce their clinic hours in the next three years, a jump of eight per cent from 2022.

A total of 559 doctors are forecast to retire in the next three years.

Keir Johnson, a spokesman for the physician-advocacy organization, said as recently as 2018 there were only 22 retirements.

“Many system or culture issues in the health system were cited by physicians for their decisions to retire, including feeling frustrated by system issues, not feeling valued by the health system, burnout and administrative burden,” Johnson said.

“Clinic owners are concerned about keeping their clinics open and finding someone to take over the practice. Our February 2023 survey found 67 per cent of clinic owners were very or somewhat concerned about keeping their clinic or practice open in the next three years if nothing changes.”

But Johnson said things have been changing in recent weeks, including the new physician services agreement and the Kinew government’s commitment to add 250 health professionals to doctors’ offices.

“The hope in the profession is palpable,” he said. “It feels like we are turning a corner.”

Johnson said the organization also hopes the province will consider creating a financial incentive to support succession planning to help late-career doctors transition their practices to new physicians.

Thomas Linner, provincial director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, said his organization is pleased with the government’s moves to “set a new tone with health-care providers.”

“MHC believes we must also look to expand and increase funding to established primary-care models that do not rely on direct physician regimentation, such as our team-based community health centres. This is particularly important in core neighbourhoods where the need for primary care already goes unmet far too often,” he said.

During a media event on Friday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara got a COVID-19 booster and said all recommendations from doctors should be considered.

“We need to make sure that we are taking a really dynamic and diverse approach to how we retain and recruit doctors to Manitoba,” Asagwara said.

“We know part of the reason why folks are leaving health care, including retiring — maybe ahead of schedule than what they had planned — is because the work-life balance isn’t what it needs to be…. We are looking at ways we can retain the folks as long as possible in our health-care system.”

Bradshaw said she doesn’t know how much longer she intends to own a clinic.

“Being a business owner in medicine is risky, and it is even riskier than ever now,” she said, adding medical supplies haven’t been spared from the effects of inflation, and it has been tough to balance her clinic’s budget.

The new physician services agreement will help.

“For the first time, and we are one of only two or three provinces with it, we get a small tariff for each service in person we do,” she said.

“It’s not a large amount, but it’s huge. It will make a difference.”

As for the patients at Rivergrove, Bradshaw’s advice is to follow their doctors, if possible, wherever they go.

“I know how frightening it is (when a clinic closes),” she said.

“But if you can get a bus ticket for Sage Creek, I would keep that doctor and cherish them.”

— with files from Malak Abas and Danielle Da Silva

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca