An agreement has been reached between the Province and the Medical Society of P.E.I. on emergency services coverage in rural hospitals.
The agreement was jointly announced today by Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover and the Chair of the Medical Society Negotiations Committee, Dr. Rosemary Henderson.
"This agreement will ensure emergency services continue as we work towards a longer term solution to meet physician concerns and provide effective delivery of emergency services throughout the province," said Minister Dover.
Under the terms of the agreement, physicians providing on call services at night in rural hospitals will receive an hourly rate of payment ranging from $33.30 to $53.30 depending upon the facility.
Government has committed approximately $120,000 of new money during the 1997/98 fiscal year to fund the agreement.
"The issues of physician lifestyles and remuneration for on-call coverage have become very complex," said Dr. Henderson. "The demands of frequent on-call coverage can result in burn-out and high turnover of physicians, especially in rural areas."
"The additional funds committed by Government should aid in recruiting locum physicians to ease the call burden of the rural doctors, while still being fairly applied to local physicians assuming the bulk of the call responsibilities," she said.
The Minister said that she is pleased the Medical Society and the Province have been able to reach an agreement that begins to address physician issues and can be implemented this year within the funds that were allocated by Government.
The agreement is effective August 11, 1997 until March 31, 1998 at which time the Master Agreement between the Medical Society and the Province also expires.
"Negotiations on the Master Agreement" said Dr. Henderson "will begin this fall and the issue of on-call coverage in rural hospitals will be included in these discussions."
Minister Dover said, "The interim agreement will provide the opportunity for the Department of Health and Social Services to continue to work with the Medical Society, the physicians and hospital staff to better understand the issues and options around on-call coverage, and to arrive at a longer term solution for the delivery of Emergency Services in the Province."
For more information, contact Jean Doherty, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Health and Community Services, (902) 368-6257.