The MP for Westlock-St. Paul would like to see doctor recruitment stop being a problem in the Lakeland. Brian Storseth is establishing a regional doctor recruitment board to increase co-operation on the doctor deficit, which he said increases patient wait times and stresses health services.
“The purpose of this board is going to be basically to bring the resources together that already exist within our communities in the Lakeland to help expedite doctor recruitment and hopefully get a better success ratio in doctor recruitment in our area,” Storseth said.
Storseth hosted a meeting to explore setting up a regional doctor recruitment board in Cold Lake on July 14. He plans to hold another meeting in early August in Bonnyville.
He said surveys of his constituents in the Lakeland placed doctor recruitment as a high priority. He added that the new regional board wouldn't replace boards currently working on health issues but that he hoped it would increase co-operation. He expects St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Cold Lake people will participate in the initiative.
“This is a provincial issue, this is a local community issue, and then it gets to the point the odd time where it's a federal issue when you have immigration that needs to be brought in,” he said, adding that he could help ease immigration delays for recruited doctors.
MP Patrick Brown attended the meeting to offer expertise in setting up a regional board for doctor recruitment, which he did in his Barrie, Ont. constituency. Brown also sits on the National Health Board.
Storseth said the new board would try to mitigate competition in the Lakeland for the same doctors, and would share information about recruiting specialists so as to concentrate efforts in the most effective way.
“We don't need four of the same specialist in the area. It's about more communication.”