Petawawa, Ont., struggling with doctor shortage
Patients going to local ERs for simple medical needs
A doctor shortage in Petawawa, Ont., is leaving residents struggling and using the local emergency room as a crutch for simple medical needs.
The Petawawa Centennial Family Health Clinic is the only facility serving the community of 17,500 people.
There are seven doctors on staff, but some work part time, giving the community the equivalent of only five doctors.
They have funding for an additional doctor, but can't find anyone.
"It just seems that we can't get enough [doctors] and people are demanding more," said Tom Mohns, the town's deputy mayor.
Mohns, who also chairs the clinic's board, said patients need family doctors.
"Emergency rooms are full. You go there and you wait for hours to get in."
In data from 2015, the Champlain Local Health Integration Network showed 96.5 per cent of residents in the western region, which includes Petawawa, had a family doctor.
The problem is less than 40 per cent have access to same day or even next-day appointments.
Nearly 70 per cent struggle with getting after-hours care without going to the emergency room.
As of the end of March, more than 350 patients in Petawawa were still on a provincial wait list for a family doctor, but that number doesn't include residents who haven't registered for Health Care Connect, according to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Revolving door
Alesha Brown is one of those people trying to navigate her way through a revolving door of doctors.
She's lived in town for five years since her husband was transferred to the military base and is on her fourth doctor.
"Every six months you get a doctor, you get a letter that says they're leaving," she said.
The mother of two already has to travel to CHEO several times a week because her 10-year-old daughter has serious medical conditions.
"Healthcare's important and we can't get doctors here," she said. "Good luck with our government doing anything for us because they don't care."
Her husband receives medical care through the base and she said she is frustrated that military families are left to find their own physicians.
"It's kind of like a slap in the face."
While seven general practitioners at Petawawa's clinic serve a population of more than 11,000, the community's military base has 15 doctors — including one surgeon and a number of psychiatrists.
Five are Military Medical Officers, meaning they've undergone military training; the rest are civilians.
About 6,100 people live on base.
Recruitment and retention
The problems in Petawawa have been coming to a head, as many doctors retire and younger doctors show less interest in rural communities.
"Unless you really adore the recreational activities that are offered here, we're two hours outside of Ottawa and a lot of the new grads, particularly, wish to stay in the bigger centres," said Judy Hill, the Petawawa Centennial Family Health Clinic's executive director.
She said many young doctors choose to work in family clinics only part of the time so they can get a variety of experience.
Burnout is a very real problem for doctors working in rural areas, especially if there isn't support, but Petawawa adds its own challenges with military families and veterans, said Dr. Declan Rowan, who has been working in the town for more than a decade.
He has patients who are veterans, many with PTSD.
"If you're working in an environment where you're trying to manage people with very complex medical needs and have difficulty of access to specialty supports, it really can be really challenging and make your work day very difficult," he said.
Struggles ongoing
Municipalities in the region have dealt with the problem before.
About a decade ago they formed the Upper Ottawa Valley Medical Recruitment Committee to find doctors.
The committee was disbanded in 2015 after meeting a goal of a minimal wait list.
"We knew that someday this was going to happen," said Mohns.
"With doctors retiring and the continual growth, we still have an issue and it's starting to flare up again,"
In 2006, the province granted Petawawa a family health team designation, providing funding for a new building and operational costs for the doctors and a few nurse practitioners, which lead to the the Petawawa Centennial Family Health Centre.
Unlike most family physicians in the province, the doctors are on salary and don't bill the health system for each individual service or appointment.
The clinic is currently full, with between 7,500 and 7,800 patients looked after by the team.
Closest full-service walk-in clinic in Ottawa
Patients are using Pembroke's Regional Hospital's emergency department as a walk-in clinic, while the closest actual clinic is in Kanata, in Ottawa's west end, more than one and a half hours away.
According to Hill, the Petawawa clinic has had some success getting care for patients with the most complex and difficult health needs.
She said they also have specific programs for women's health and babies and toddlers, but she admits many other patients who don't have doctors are left out.
"We do as best we can with what we have. We're trying to get there. There's a need for [older] kids as well."