DW-Editorial
The challenging situation becomes compounded
For more than 20 years, we’ve heard about the issues of physician recruitment and retention in Estevan.
It’s been a perpetual cycle. We have a physician shortage. We recruit more doctors. They talk about how much they like it here and they stay a few years, but when the opportunity comes up to move to a larger centre, most seize that chance.
It’s becoming increasingly rare to see a physician remain in a community of this size for the long term. Those who have had the same doctor for more than a decade typically consider themselves very fortunate.
We’re also not alone in this situation. Cities much larger than Estevan are trying to deal with physician shortages of their own.
This problematic cycle isn’t going away any time soon. But we’re seeing another layer applied when it comes to a most essential segment of health-care delivery: nurses.
We’re hearing about services that are being suspended because of a lack of nurses rather than a lack of doctors.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a surplus of nurses. But we’ve usually had enough to be able to offer the services that we need, even when numbers were lower.
This isn’t just an issue affecting Estevan or southeast Saskatchewan. Much like the physician shortage, it’s become a problem everywhere, including the much larger markets.
Oxbow held a meeting Tuesday night to discuss the recent service interruptions for the Galloway Health Centre. That town has three doctors. Good ones, too, Well respected in the community. But the problem has shifted to a lack of nurses.
The people in attendance received some good news: nurses have been hired to worked at the health centre, which should remedy the situation. But that doesn't mean the town won't find itself in that situation again down the line.
Oxbow’s health centre plays an important role in the region. If someone in that area has a health problem and requires immediate care, the closest emergency room would be Estevan, Arcola or Redvers.
Much like the physician shortage, the lack of nurses is an issue with no quick fixes and no simple solutions. It’s a multi-layered problem that’s going to take time to rectify. Bring in nurses from other countries? That’s a good step. But it will take time to get them here. And you still need those who were born, raised and trained in Canada.
Pay them more? That will help, but a better wage will only go so far.
Give them equipment to work with? Again, it helps. But it’s going to take time and money.
Find some sort of a blend between universal health care and a private, for-profit system? Some would like to see that, but it’s going to take a long time to bring such a system to fruition because you still have to ensure some form of health-care for everybody.
Nursing is an incredibly difficult profession. The education and training component takes time, you have to be able to think and react quickly, the hours are long and demanding and it’s a mentally draining job.
A lot of nurses left the profession once the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was over. Many of them had been in the profession and were just done. Others are younger, were feeling burned out and thinking that maybe this wasn’t the position for them any longer.
The ones who are left are overworked and feeling the impact of a difficult situation. They’re working extra hours to ensure they meet everyone’s needs as quickly as possible. It doesn’t help that every time there’s even the slightest mistake, an ignoramus would criticize them on social media, such as a rant and rave page, often under the “group member” name.
We need to be there for our nurses. We need to show our support, let them know how lucky we are to have them in our communities, and remember they are a vital part of our health-care system.
It’s difficult enough to have to worry about constantly recruiting and retaining of physicians. It’s going to be ever more difficult if nursing shortages become a long-term problem.
