The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta is concerned about the number of foreign-trained doctors coming to Alberta to work at walk-in clinics.
The CPSA noted that 145 IMGs have been sponsored to work at clinics in the province over the past two years, most of which are in Edmonton and Calgary—even though there may not be evidence they are needed, the Calgary Herald is reporting.
Back in February, the Medical Post reported that CPSA registrar Dr. Trevor Theman said that many foreign-trained doctors were being siphoned away by urban clinics while rural areas remained underserviced.
And no, assistant registrar Dr. Ken Gardener said the gap between the cities and the rural areas is concerning.
“The concern is, if we are seeing an ever-increasing proportion of recruitments of internationally trained physicians to urban walk-in clinics, is that aligned with the most critical needs of the health system?” said Dr. Gardener.
“We are getting pushback that this is not something the system needs, and we are getting that from individual physicians, we are getting it from academic departments, and we are getting it from AHS (Alberta Health Services).”
Walk-in clinics have been a controversial topic in Canadian medicine over the years.
While governments seek to find solutions to the doctor shortages, walk-ins are seen as a way to provide care quickly to patients in need. However, there have been vocal critics who say the walk-ins simply siphon off the easiest cases and the healthiest patients while leaving office-based family physicians with the most ill.
In January, Dr. Peggy Yakimov from British Columbia’s Interior Health Authority expressed frustration with the model.
“(Clinic physicians) don’t cover on-call at night time,” said Dr. Yakimov, the executive medical director for physician support at the health authority.
“They don’t provide services to patients when they’re admitted to hospital. And they don’t provide any additional care at the hospital such as emergency coverage or delivering babies.
“They work a specific shift in the hospital and that’s all they work and then they leave and they’re not responsible for their patients.”
(Reprinted from the Canadian Healthcare Network, WRITTEN BY JERED STUFFCO ON JUNE 23, 2014)
