Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem is encouraged by recent success in recruiting physicians to the province's health and social services system.
In the past year, 18 new physicians have been recruited to PEI. "We have had more success this past year than in any year in recent memory," advised the minister. "Nine new positions have been created, and we are making good progress in eliminating vacancies." He noted that the number of vacancies have fallen from approximately 22 a year ago to 13 today. He pointed out that progress is even being made in the two speciality areas, psychiatry and ophthalmology, where chronic shortages have been experienced across Canada in recent years.
Physician recruitment is very competitive all across Canada noted the Minister. "A large part of our success is the result of exemplary work by our staff, great cooperation with Health Regions and the Medical Society of PEI, and an innovative and flexible approach. To continue to be successful, we must also maintain a positive working environment for all health professionals currently working in our system because retention is as important as recruitment."
Ballem also commented on the release today of a report by the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) on the latest statistics on Canada's physicians, 1996-2000.
The report sees the number of physicians leaving the country declining significantly and the number returning to the county improving. The CIHI report also notes that PEI has fewer physicians per 100,000 population than some other provinces.
There are two factors which make PEI's number of physicians per capita appear lower than some other provinces, including the absence of a medical school in the province and the frequent utilization of specialists outside the province which are not counted in the PEI statistics.
Minister Ballem advised that, while CIHI's five year statistical review of the supply Canada's physicians is interesting, success depends on where you are starting from. "Our goal is to provide Islanders with reasonable access to needed medical services and reduce waiting times rather than to reach an arbitrary target number of health professionals."
New initiatives in ophthalmology, adult and children's mental health, and primary health care redesign are good examples of areas where the health and social services system is changing the way in which services are provided so that services are improved and the skills of health professionals are used most appropriately.
Ballem said that Islanders who participated in the recent Strategic Planning process for the health and social services system indicated a high level of satisfaction with the care they receive. "Sustainability is one of our principles, and recruiting and retaining health human resources, including physicians, is an important component. We are making good progress, and we will continue to ensure that the health needs of Islanders are met most effectively."