Manitoba inks deal to recruit 150 physicians in battle against doctor shortage

The Manitoba government has hired a recruitment firm to bring 150 more physicians to the province as it works to address an ongoing shortage of doctors, Health Minister Audrey Gordon says.

The deal with Canadian Health Labs aims to attract 50 physicians each for Winnipeg, northern Manitoba and rural communities, Gordon said at a news conference on Monday. A request for proposals from recruiting agencies was issued in April.

Gordon said she's confident the target will be met, and there are penalties established if goals aren't achieved at certain stages of the contract.

The request for proposals issued earlier this year said the physicians recruited will remain in the community for a minimum of four years.

When asked about whether the newly recruited doctors would be required to stay in the area they're recruited to for a certain period of time, Dr. Anna Ziomek, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, said it would be up to the doctors' employers to implement such a rule.

"Those are always risks. What we need to do is to make physicians who come here feel welcome and supported in the environments in which they're going," Ziomek said at the news conference.

A spokesperson for Shared Health, which issued the request for proposals for the initiative, said the time commitment required to stay in a specific role or community would be "subject to negotiated contractual terms agreed to between the physician and health system employer."

The contract with Canadian Health Labs is for two years, with an option for a third year, the spokesperson said in an email.

The number of doctors recruited per geographic area also affects the overall compensation, with more incentives given for filling positions in rural and northern areas that are typically harder to fill.

The initiative comes in response to Manitoba's continuing shortage of doctors.

A report released late last year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information said the province has 217 physicians per 100,000 residents — the third-lowest rate in the country, ahead of only Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.

Requirements eased

Manitoba has also approved new amendments to streamline registration requirements and speed up the process for internationally educated physicians, which will come into effect on Sept. 1, Gordon said. 

Those changes mean internationally educated physicians will no longer have to hold a licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada to practise in Manitoba, as along as they meet all the other registration requirements, Gordon said.

Specialists who have already completed the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's subspecialist examination affiliate program will also now be eligible for a new fast-tracked registration process more appropriate for their qualifications.

"Our government is healing health care by bringing more doctors into the province, making it easier for internationally educated doctors to practise in Manitoba and working to retain those that are currently providing care to Manitobans," Gordon said.

Ziomek said the changes, which come following public consultations that got largely supportive feedback, will reduce barriers for internationally educated medical graduates while maintaining public safety.

"These changes make Manitoba more attractive to highly skilled professionals who will make valuable contributions to our health-care system," she said. 

Gordon said specialists and family physicians will still have to demonstrate competency by either completing the Manitoba Practice Assessment Program or completing post-graduate medical education and getting certification from the College of Family Physicians of Canada or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

The changes also allow the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba to establish streamlined assessment requirements for fully licensed and internationally educated doctors, including reducing provincial registration requirements for applicants from areas with similar health care, education and training systems. 

Those regions include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, Gordon said. The change will align Manitoba's requirements with other regulatory bodies in Canada, she said.

The update comes days after the province announced it had reached a tentative deal with Doctors Manitoba that includes a $268-million funding boost for doctors and initiatives to address physician shortage and retention issues over the next four years.

Dr. Michael Boroditsky, president of Doctors Manitoba, in Monday's news release lauded the latest regulatory changes, which he said "will remove burdensome and unnecessary steps" to getting a licence in the province. 

The changes also come a few months after the province approved other amendments that removed the need for internationally educated doctors to pass the Medical Council of Canada qualifying exam Part 1 before registering and practising in Manitoba.