Okanagan town about to lose its only medical clinic
Medical director of the private clinic set to retire in March with no replacement lined up
A small town in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley is set to lose its only medical clinic in the next few months.
Dr. John Brinkerhoff, medical director of Peachland's Beach Avenue Medical Clinic, is retiring at the end of March and the clinic has not been able to find a doctor to replace him.
"Once I decided to retire, it does leave a void and I regret that greatly," Brinkerhoff told CBC's Daybreak South host Chris Walker.
Brinkerhoff said medical clinics in B.C. need a medical director to oversee operations at the clinic. The director must be qualified as an MD and be in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Unfortunately, he says, none of the four other doctors at the clinic expressed interest in taking over the position.
Instead, they have planned to leave the community of nearly 4,700 — they're dispersing to the nearby municipalities of Summerland, Kelowna, and West Kelowna.
Brinkerhoff's patients will be transferred to another doctor in West Kelowna.
"The patients are not left in the cold, " Brinkerhoff said. "They can follow their physician. Of course, the issue is that may be an inconvenience."
Peachland Mayor Cindy Fortin said she learned about the possible clinic closure a few days ago.
"We received a lot of emails and phone calls from residents that are gravely concerned about losing their doctor and worried. Even another doctor as close as West Kelowna is going to be difficult for them to get to," Fortin said.
Fortin said council will be sending a formal letter to the clinic to see if there's anything council can do to keep the clinic open, although she acknowledged it "might be an impossibility at this time" considering the doctors have planned on moving.
She said she remains optimistic, however, pointing out that when Peachland's only financial institute shut down, council formed a committee and eventually found somebody interested in opening up another one in the community.
"At this point, we don't know yet what we can do but we are going to see and explore some options."
Listen to the segment on Daybreak South:
With files from Daybreak South