MD recruitment at top of new Shared Health top doctor’s agenda

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (583 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Physician recruitment and retention in Manitoba will be “a top priority” for Shared Health’s new provincial chief medical officer.

Dr. José François, a 25-year family physician, has been appointed to the position to take over from Dr. Perry Gray, who is retiring this month. François will be responsible for overseeing matters related to physicians’ practices within Shared Health, an entity created under the previous government in 2018.

He’ll be responsible for co-ordinating with health regions and working closely with University of Manitoba’s medical school on doctor recruitment.

“Access is a major issue right now for Manitobans, and part of the solution there is improving our recruitment strategies for physicians, but also working with other members of the leadership team around developing strategies for other health professionals,” François said.

He said he plans to standardize some processes for bringing new doctors aboard and help craft consistent messages across health regions while keeping in mind the geographical differences and specific needs in rural and northern Manitoba compared with urban centres.

He’ll be co-ordinating recruitment strategies and will be looking at opportunities to recruit doctors from outside of Manitoba, including looking at ways to make sure internationally trained physicians are licensed “in a timely way to meet the needs of our communities.”

No recruitment targets or specific plans have yet been announced. François said that will be part of his work early on in the role.

“When we go out and recruit, we need to be able to portray our needs correctly, put our best foot forward,” he said.

François was previously Shared Health’s provincial medical specialty lead for family medicine and served as acting medical specialty lead for emergency medicine. His appointment was announced Tuesday following a “competitive national search,” Shared Health stated, and takes effect April 15.

He said he’ll also be looking at ways to build capacity in Manitoba’s health system by taking a “teams-based” approach: potentially bringing in additional nurse practitioners, physicians’ assistants and clinical assistants to take on some of the work traditionally provided by family doctors.

The NDP provincial government and Premier Wab Kinew have been outspoken about the need to reduce bureaucracy in health care to focus on the front lines, including within Shared Health’s operations.

Asked if his appointment is a precursor to cuts or restructuring at Shared Health, François said he’s not privy to the government’s larger plans. The position includes an advisory role to the minister of health.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said there has always been the ability for the provincial chief medical lead to consult with or advise the minister.

The government has promised to hire at least 400 doctors, 300 nurses, 200 paramedics and 100 home-care workers in Winnipeg and other regions of the province. In a mandate letter last month to Shared Health board chairman Dr. Brian Postl, Asagwara directed Shared Health to support that commitment by cutting bureaucracy and focusing on front-line workers.

The mandate letter, dated Feb. 14, directs the board of directors to focus on bedside care rather than excessive health-care bureaucracy, reduce wait times and support community health programs while guarding against “consistent overspending.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca