Pushing Forward to Improve Health Care

Thursday, September 30, 2010 03:59 AM

Prince George, B.C.- The Northern Medical Society says it may have completed its work to bring a Northern Cancer Clinic to Prince George, but its work to improve health care in the north is far from over.

Northern Medical Society Executive Director, Dr. Bert Kelly says the focus is now on some other items starting with education programs for UNBC “These are physiotherapy, pharmacy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology.” He says the Society is also working towards recruitment so that everyone who wants a family doctor can have one.

The new name for the former Prince George Regional Hospital means it is being recognized as a “teaching hospital” and there is a capital project that should go along with that education component “We would like to have a proper auditorium for our hospital. To date we have had a very old trailer behind the hospital but I notice the builders have removed it and I don’t know what’s happened to it, but good riddance.”

Dr.Kelly says the efforts to train rural students in the north is paying off, as some graduates have told him they would never have followed their dream to be a physician had they not been able to attend University in the north because they simply couldn’t afford the costs associated with completing their schooling in Vancouver. The challenge as he sees is it, is to ensure Northern Health offers sufficient incentives for the new physicians to stay in the region as other jurisdictions are offering some very attractive relocation packages.

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Posted on Thursday, September 30, 2010 03:59 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Boudicca on September 30 2010 8:11 AM

while i was at the hospital yesterday a doctor told me 5 more family doctors are closing their practices here in PG meaning there will be 10'000 to 15'000 More peopel without access to a family doctors.
ummmmm sooooo what the heck is a cancer hospital going to do if people dont have a doctor to diagnose ANYTHING!!!!!
this system is broken

Posted by: IMO on September 30 2010 8:21 AM

One of those doctors is mine and it sucks! It took me 8 years to finally get a doctor and do not look forward to going through that again. Sigh

The hospital is so dirty that I dread the day I may have to go there for anything. I have watched them put people on beds that the bedding was not removed after the previous patient.

Too much administration and not enough front line workers! This has been the problem for far too long.

Posted by: gus on September 30 2010 2:36 PM

There appear to be about 80 physicians in the phone book who appear to be general practitioners. At 2,000 patients per doctor, the figure used by Boudicca, that is sufficient for a population of 160,000, which is larger than the catchment area for family physicians working in PG.

We have a slice in time for the present. And even that is not an accurate one. It would be nice if we had better access to such information.

Once we had that, and had retroactive information going back on a 5 year or so basis for 25 or so years, we would have a better idea of whether things are improving or getting worse.

Bits and pieces here or there simply does not cut it.

Posted by: Ispy on September 30 2010 4:45 PM

IMO- really??? where was this observed,do tell!

Posted by: Brownshoe on September 30 2010 4:59 PM

maybe if people stopped going to the doctor everytime they have the sniffills they could make more room for more.

Posted by: hood rich on September 30 2010 7:49 PM

health care sucks in the north compared to the rest of the province. having talked with many in the northern medical program, they do not see PG as a good place to live. many doctors (among other professionals) start in PG or other northern communities but leave once they have gained experience. Serious brain drain out of the north.