Yes this model does work in Fraser Lake, and guess what. A number of people in Prince George who cannot get a doctor go to the Doctors in Fraser Lake. Maybe we will also have to go to Mackenzie to get a Doctor.

What a screwed up system. Maybe we should implement this system in Prince George and get some Doctors to come here.

A women recently wrote to the Citizen that she moved here from Alberta, registered with the Provincial Medical Plan, and paid her monthly fee. She has tried go get a doctor in Prince George but has not been successful. So she has to go to a walk in clinic, or to emergency. What kind of a BS system is that.

If the average Joe took your money under the pretense that he would give you something in return, and then didnt he would be charged with fraud. Funny how the Government can take your money for a service, but not provide the service.

Lets here some more about the BS Medical program at UNBC. Remember the **Train them in the North and they will stay in the North** Where are they?????

Have a nice day.

Uh... you do realize that it takes longer than a year or two to become a doctor, right? The UNBC medical program is actually quite amazing and will bring rewards to PG.

Maybe so, interceptor. But that certainly doesn't negate what Palopu is saying either. It IS a screwed up system, just like most other things under the watch of this pocket-picking Campbell government. And no, I'm NOT an NDPer. We pay 'more' in MSP premiums and get 'less' in the way of services. That's not good management, it's out and out robbery.

Maybe revert to the old tactic of hospitality suites and recruiting fairs. In the late 60s that is the way they got teachers to PG. They would party in one of the hospitality suites in downtown Vancouver one evening. The next morning they would wake up on a bus for Prince George with a teaching contract stuffed in their pocket! Ahhh the good old days!

Since when did paying MSP premiums guarantee you access to a family doctor, especially considering that family doctors are privately run businesses?

The gal that Palopu speaks of from Alberta still has access to the system, she just has to go about getting it in a different way. It's not ideal, but she'll still be able to get x-rays, lab tests and she'll still have a bed in a hospital if she needs it.

If you want to get more doctors into PG, make PG a place that doctors want to live AND practice in.

There are also plenty of stories out there in regards to how the "old boys club" of doctors in PG impacts the effective delivery of health care here. Perhaps the NHA should start addressing some of those issues as well and run the hospital like hospitals in every other major center are run, instead of letting the doctors dictate how it should be managed. Many of our local docs wouldn't last a minute in a major centre if they tried to do the things they did here. Conversely, there have also been many out of town docs that wanted to work here but simply refused to put up with the BS they had to deal with when it came to how our hospital is managed.

Funny how this is an article about Mackenzie and you turn it into something about PG by all your remarks .How about good for you Mackenzie hope it works for you and maybe it will help PG in the long run because Mackenzie people wont be taking up space at the emerg and the doctors in PG becuase we only have 1 or maybe 2 doctors for 3000 people

Mackenzie is still managed by the NHA (Northern Health Authority) and like it or not, the hospital in PG will still continue to be your referral center for the forseeable future.

I do agree that getting docs in Mackenzie is good, however, it is only one small piece of a much bigger puzzle. Family docs are an integral part of the health care system, but you also need the other components that a larger center like PG should offer to us and our surrounding communities. Whether you are in Mackenzie, PG or Fort St. James, if you need work done at PGRH and it's not being managed ideally, we lose.

I think we need to work on all aspects of health care delivery in our region. That was what my post was meant to point out.

How about good for you Fraser Lake because they have had the system for a long time. Why did it take MacKenzie so long to get it. Was the Government dragging their feet???.

The UNBC medical program may be amazing and may bring rewards to PG, however where are the doctors???? Give me some stats??? of those that graduated how many actually stayed in North Central BC to date. Dont deal in generalities, be specific.

Interceptor is correct, of course, that the UNBC medical program is only just getting into stride, but it is not the only program in PG that trains doctors. The Family Practice Clinic was set up about 15 years ago, or so, and graduates 4 doctors every year I believe, although my memory is a bit hazy on the specific details. I would think that at least 60 Family Practice physicians (GPs) have passed through that program since it was set up sometime in the 90s, probably more.

Where are they? Were they absorbed into the Northern Health region? Have they replaced retiring GPs? Have they gone on to specialise? Have they left for greener pastures? I, for one, would be interested in knowing what has happened to these doctors.

A major stumbling block to attracting and keeping doctors in Prince George is our absolutely terrible air quality. There is a major shortage of doctors everywhere, and as a result they can get a job pretty well any place they choose to go.

As I recall (a few years ago) one of the medical students at UNBC wrote a letter to the local newspaper stating the concerns she and her fellow students had about Prince George's toxic air quality.

Is there anyone out there who can recall and provide more details about this letter to the local newspaper by this UNBC medical student?

My understanding is that the doctors don't stay in Mackenzie because they are unable to utilize their skills here. They aren't able to deliver babies or do minor surgeries. They lose these skills because they aren't being used.
When our old hospital was still in use, doctor's could deliver babies, do tonsillectomies and other minor surgeries. We have this beautiful, relatively new and modern hospital, but it is being used as nothing more than a first aid station/senior's home.
The doctor and the nurses do everything they can, but they are limited. Perhaps its time to look at allowing doctors in Mackenzie to do more than diagnose colds.

Ohh right. Because if the NDP were in power doctors would be lined up to live in the PGs of the world.

No government is going to make the north a desirable place to live. You cant blame the Liberals for that.

The reality is that this APP model should probably be implemented everywhere north of Cache Creek and east of Smithers. Doctors in PG already make alot more than lower mainland drs, but clearly its not enough. Pay them more of suffer with the current service levels.

This is not being written about Prince George or Mackenzie but about here in the Okanagan and it is not about where the doctors want to live or work but instead the problem is a lot to do with the doctors themselves and their lousy attitude towards their patients and profession.

I have a history of heart disease and prostate problems.Over the past 13 years my "family" doctor has seen me only for my annual physical.My physical,at the most takes 10 minutes in his office and then he sends me to the hospital for a battery of tests and tells me that if I don't hear from him there is no problem.(he often doesn't even take my blood pressure). On 2 different occasions I had to contact him on a different matter and when I asked him about my test results he looked in my file and found out he had never received them from the hospital. When I questioned him I found out that he does not follow-up his requisitioned test results, so, so much for don't call me I'll call you if there is a problem. He has also told me that if I do have a problem, don't bother him but go to Emergency instead. So much for having a "family doctor" I only wish that a complaint could be lodged to the BCMA without my being identified at the outset as this same doctor just fired one of his patients who complained about their lack of treatment because they are "too old" and they are now forced to move to another town in order to receive proper medical care.

Seems there is more to this issue of Doctors than meets the eye.

In any event I still do not think that the **Train them in the North and they will stay in the North** concept is sound. I think it is more likely that Doctors will stay in the area where they complete their residency, and very few can do that here.

If anyone ever comes up with some actual figures of the number of Doctors that graduated from UNBC and the number who stayed in the North I would certainly like to see them.

For those who have not seen this, you might find this site interesting.

http://www.ratemds.com

I know of two doctors, both of whom had a family member that practice(d) medicine in PG, who went to UNBC, graduated and practice here or in another "rural" area. Remember, UNBC's territory goes far beyond PG.

If you want to see the graduates from the program (there should be about 20+ per year, soon to increase to 30+) you will likely see a large number at the "University Hospital" during their internship/residency or whatever it is called these days. I believe they rotate with other hospitals in UNBC's territory. If they all stayed in the North, we would have an oversupply within a period of 5 years or even less, just as we would have an oversupply if all the Dental Hygienists who graduate from CNC stayed in the North.

Part of the idea was not only to graduate doctors outside the lower mainland, but to increase the number of doctors that BC graduates. That pragram is almost complete when the Okanagan campus of UBC begins their medical program and starts to graduate doctors in about 3 or 4 years. I believe the numbers will double.

BC has always had to import doctors from elsewhere in Canada, North America and the world to satisfy the demand and the need. AND medicine is not the only area where BC does not graduate sufficient students to meet the needs of the province.

Of course, as some of you may be coming aware of, the problem may be solved shortley when the health systems will realize that it is considerably cheaper to get some of the procedures done elsewhere in the world.

No, it is not because the labour is cheaper. It is actually more and more because medicine in places like India and China is taking on the west for quality and effciciency.

http://www.ratemds.com

Looks like a great site. Plugged in our postal code (Mackenzie). The list of Doctors ranged from McBride to New Hazelton. There were, however, two Doctors that had spent time in Mackenzie; both long gone. A website doesn't help much when you haven't got a doctor.

By the way, I don't blame the Lieberals for the lack of Doctors in the north. I blame both parties; the extreme right and the extreme left. Don't care what they call themselves at the moment. B.C. and Canada have been negligent in training doctors for some time. It's much like the looming trades shortage that is mentioned in another article on O250.