Manitoba doctor numbers dismal in new study

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This article was published 31/10/2023 (1046 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A national study released Monday paints a dire picture of Manitoba’s chronic doctor shortage.

The annual report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows the province has the second-lowest number of doctors per capita in Canada and sits at rock bottom when it comes to the per-capita number of family physicians.

Manitoba has 215 doctors per 100,000 residents, which is the second lowest rate in the country and well below the national average of 247. Prince Edward Island has the lowest number of doctors per capita, with 209 doctors per 100,000 people.

The report was presented by Dr. Michael Boroditsky, president of Doctors Manitoba, who said Manitoba now needs 445 more doctors just to meet the Canadian average.

“These physician shortages are making it harder for Manitobans to find family doctors or to access specialist care. This shortage is a significant concern on its own, but it’s even more concerning when you look at our local data, which suggests half the doctors in Manitoba are planning on retiring, leaving Manitoba or reducing their clinical hours in the next three years,” Boroditsky said.

Manitoba’s physician shortage has been “bad for a number of years,” added Boroditsky when replying to The Sun’s question about how long it has been an issue.

“Anybody who thinks that this is something that just happened a year ago or two years ago is mistaken. Manitoba has been on a downward trend for, I would say, greater than a decade with resource issues for physicians,” Boroditsky said.

Additional reasons doctors gave for leaving or reducing their practice hours include frustration with system issues, feeling burnt out, not feeling valued by the health programming system and excessive administrative burden.

While there was no specific data available in the report regarding shortages in the Westman region, Boroditsky told the Sun, “We’ve always recognized the shortage of physicians more so and more glaring in our rural and northern communities, and Brandon is no exception, and it’s been a pressing issue for Doctors Manitoba.”

Brandon physician Dr. Scott Blyth has been practising medicine for more than 35 years. He’s set to retire at the end of December and told the Sun he knows what burnout feels like.

Along with his practice at the Western Medical Clinic, Blyth takes shifts at the walk-in clinic, seeing at least 60 patients between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., which he said can be stressful for him as well as the patient.

“It’s gut-wrenching at times. You can feel really helpless when people ask, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve got health issues, and my family doctor is retiring.’

“At the walk-in, people come to get help in a more immediate fashion to get meds filled, to ask about their lab investigation, and it can be quite stressful being on the spot and people can get angry. I’ve had a few people wag their fingers at me, ‘Why can’t you help me?’” Blyth said.

When asked what could fix the province’s health-care system, Blyth said the primary care “team-based” clinics proposed by the NDP government was a “grand idea.”

Doctors Manitoba’s Boroditsky agreed.

Opening a primary-care clinic in Brandon was a campaign promise made by NDP Leader Wab Kinew in September.

The medical facility would have physicians, nurses, mental health experts, social workers, and occupational and physical therapists on staff to offer more services more quickly to those with multifaceted health issues.

Even though the province continues to lose doctors, Boroditsky said he is optimistic about the tone of the new government, and the promise of new primary-care clinics.

“I’m also optimistic about commitments Manitoba as new government has made including the new physicians’ agreement, reducing administrative burdens, and adding 400 more doctors.”

Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba’s health minister, told the Sun they are already working with doctors and other health-care experts across the system to shore up the system.

“One of the first and most important steps is making sure that we retain the experts we have here in Manitoba. We need to keep the doctors who are practising in Manitoba — in Manitoba,” Asagwara said.

An open letter was sent to front-line health-care workers across the province by the Kinew government last Tuesday, asking for patience and stating that fixing the health-care system is a top priority.

“The letter was also to signal to doctors who maybe have recently left Manitoba because they were so frustrated with what was going on, that they chose to move their practice or take their expertise elsewhere,” Asagwara said.

“We’re signalling to those doctors to consider coming back to Manitoba and joining our health-care workforce here, because they have a government that’s going to work collaboratively with them to make sure that their expertize is respected in Manitoba.”

Reacting to the province being second last in the country when it comes to doctors per capita, and the worst for per-capita family physicians, Asagwara told the Sun, “We have to do better.”

“Manitoba should not be ranking second last in these measures — we have to do better. And the way that we do better is by working together. We’re already seeing from health-care workers across the province a desire to work with our government.

“And we’re very excited for what will come from working collaboratively with health-care workers who’ve been shut out previously for some time,” Asagwara said.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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