Doctors offered $268M funding bump

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This article was published 21/07/2023 (965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tentative multimillion-dollar deal between Manitoba’s doctors and the provincial government will mean better care for patients in Westman, says the president of Doctors Manitoba.

Under the $268-million, four-year Physician Services Agreement, doctors will receive an increase in funding to run their practices, and a new billing option will be introduced for family physicians and pediatricians to see patients with more than one medical concern.

Additionally, patients will benefit from rural and northern retention and recruitment initiatives, according to Premier Heather Stefanson.

“By working together on a common vision with Doctors Manitoba, these unprecedented investments recognize the critical importance of our physicians and will maintain Manitoba’s competitiveness with other jurisdictions while improving access to the vital medical services physicians provide for all Manitobans,” Stefanson stated in a news release on Thursday.

Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Michael Boroditsky is recommending its members ratify the tentative agreement, which also included increased funding to help attract more physicians to inpatient and emergency departments, as well as new resources to help address backlogs in surgery and diagnostic testing.

The proposed Physician Services Agreement responds to physician concerns about maintaining medical care in Brandon and rural communities, Boroditsky said.

“With new funding models for ER and hospital care, and a new retention incentive designed to support continued service in Brandon and rural Manitoba, there is a lot in this agreement to help stabilize and build up medical services for patients in western Manitoba,” Boroditsky told The Sun in an email.

In mid-June, the Brandon Clinic announced it would be closing its walk-in clinic services at the beginning of July because of doctor burnout caused by heavy workloads, according to chief executive officer Darcy Bell.

Bell told the Sun on June 23 that a shortage of physicians was also to blame. With fewer doctors contributing to the bottom line, the clinic laid off five full-time nurses, one casual nurse and one person responsible for transcription, as the Sun reported on June 3.

It’s not known if Thursday’s new funding announcement will help reverse the walk-in clinic closure.

Manitoba has the lowest number of family physicians per capita in Canada and the third-lowest for specialist physicians, according to the most recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Almost half of the province’s physicians are planning to retire, reduce their clinical hours or move to another province over the next three years, according to a recent survey by Doctors Manitoba.

It’s no surprise Manitoba has the third-lowest number of doctors in the country under the provincial conservatives, said NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara.

“They cut millions from the rural doctor recruitment and retention fund, and numerous doctors left the Brandon and Manitoba clinics. This announcement won’t reverse the seven years of cuts thousands of Manitobans experienced waiting for the health care they need,” Asagwara said in a statement.

The current agreement between the province and Manitoba’s doctors expired March 31.

The next step is for the deal to be ratified, and according to Boroditsky, that’s expected to happen by Aug. 14.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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