It was confirmed this past week, the Estevan Medical Clinic located in the Royal Heights Centre on Nicholson Road on the city's west side will be closing this fall and Estevan will be losing two more physicians.
Notices went out this week that as of Sept. 30, the clinic will be closed to clients and their file will need to be transferred to another physician or stored securely.
Dr. Veno Padayachee, owner/manager of the clinic, announced in early June that he had accepted the position as chief executive officer for the Saskatchewan Medical Association and would be moving to Saskatoon.
This news was soon followed by the information that Dr. Andre Grobler, who also practised at the clinic, would be leaving in early August to accept a medical position elsewhere.
Dr. Di Naidu, the third clinic physician, confirmed that she too, will be moving to Saskatoon this fall to assume new challenges in the medical field, stating that the decision was an agonizing one to make since "Estevan is home to me, we raised our children here; this is not easy to do, not at all. It's really heartbreaking."
"The clinic will cease to exist at the end of September," said Padayachee who spoke with The Mercury this week when he returned to Estevan to wrap up some business details.
The ongoing problem of the doctor shortages in Estevan was cited as one of the dilemmas facing the clinic and its ability to keep going as a viable entity in the city.
With all three physicians moving on, there will be increased pressure on the remaining six physicians in the city to provide care for Estevan and area residents.
The fact that Padayachee and Naidu are also certified anesthetists only exacerbates the problems the remaining physicians will encounter in the operating theatre.
Citing a need for a better work/life balance, Grobler announced his departure date will be Aug. 5.
"This is something that this region has been warned about before. There needs to be a critical mass of physicians to come here to support the office, clinic and hospital workloads," said Padayachee.
"The increased workloads can't be borne by a few. I know I made the appeal for one more trained anesthetist in February of 2009 and was told by Sun Country Health Region that it would be taken care of soon," said Padayachee.
He went on to say that he felt Estevan and area required a minimum of 10 to 12 doctors to enable the local system to operate with any degree of efficiency. He said the six remaining physicians are facing some daunting conditions and feels the situation will be unsustainable unless a few more certified physicians find their way to Estevan within the next couple of months.
"It's a bit of a house of cards situation," he added.
The demands for covering assigned tasks in June were taken care of, but the situation has not been alleviated in the meantime.
The departing doctor said that local physician recruitment and retention committees needed to start to really work together with a direct plan, rather than attempting to go their own routes. He said clinics themselves attempt to recruit, the City of Estevan has a recruitment team as does the Sun Country Health Region. Sometimes they work at cross-purposes, he suggested.
"We're all trying to re-invent the wheel. I don't think one committee is impairing the work of the others, and physician shortages are a global problem, but it just seems that Estevan is not what the doctor ordered unfortunately," Padayachee said, noting that he had spent 17 years in the city and had appreciated the opportunities and experiences.
He cited one example of Estevan's particular problem being one of geography. He said he had talked with one Saskatoon physician who was willing to relocate and had expressed interest in Estevan, but had ultimately decided on Moose Jaw since that city's location and access to other centres was more desirable.
He said Sun Country administration can only request that doctors from other centres in the region come to Estevan, but they cannot directly dispatch them since the doctors already have their own patient lists and family schedules to meet.
Doctors who might be recruited from foreign countries can't necessarily be fast-tracked into a local practice either. The minimum certification time line is at least six months.
Padayachee said that he would be in contact with Sun Country's chief medical officer later in the day to discuss the impending problem.
A new licensing process within the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons enables some new doctors to use a faster track to certification and the increased seats in the physician program at the University of Saskatchewan will ultimately add more bodies to the available roster, but that won't help the immediate problem that Estevan faces.
"And when the new graduates come out of university, we have to convince them that they can work efficiently and effectively in places other than Regina or Saskatoon," said Padayachee.
Padayachee and Naidu said that four support staff members at the Estevan Medical Clinic had been given their notice of termination of employment and that too, saddened them since it had a direct impact on four more families.
"We have discussed this situation that was looming for over two years now and were told that something would be done. We were all worried about patient safety. Honestly I would like to not be doing this," said Padayachee in conclusion.
When speaking with The Mercury later Monday, Naidu said she will carry on with her practice that will include the delivery of babies, but with some restrictions since planned Caesarean births may have to be carried out elsewhere. But that too, will be restricted by late September unless alternative solutions are found.
The news that ultrasound imaging services were returning to Estevan's St. Joseph's Hospital, a service that assists physicians and mothers-to-be, will be used less often this fall unless full service can be implemented.
A spokesperson for the Sun Country Health Region was not available for comment prior to press deadline.
