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Loss of doctors cause concern to community

Two doctors from the Weyburn Health Centre will be discontinuing their medical practice, effective June 1. Both Dr. Kyaw Shwe and Dr. Omer Nyunheign have decided to discontinue their practices. Dr.



Two doctors from the Weyburn Health Centre will be discontinuing their medical practice, effective June 1.

Both Dr. Kyaw Shwe and Dr. Omer Nyunheign have decided to discontinue their practices. Dr. Shwe started practice at the Weyburn Health Centre in April, 2003; while Dr. Nyunheign started January, 2009.

Staff and fellow physicians support their decision as both doctors move on a new path; however there is a concern in the community about the lack of family physicians.

A statement from the physicians at the Weyburn Health Care stated the physicians and staff were "Very saddened to see Dr. Kyaw Shwe and Dr. Omer Nyunheign leave their practices in Weyburn."

"They are definitely going to be missed by both the health care team and by their patients. Dr. Shwe and Dr. Nyunheign's patient records will be stored at the Weyburn Health Centre."

"The physicians of the Weyburn Health Centre currently have closed practices. As of June 1, we will have only six physicians, some of them part-time doctors. We unfortunately cannot take on Dr. Shwe and Dr. Nyunheign's patient load."

"We have a very large number of patients currently in our practices and if we take on any more new patients it starts to affect the patients that we do have and when they can get in to see their doctors."

"Our physicians work every day in the clinic, do procedures and see inpatients at the hospital daily. They are also doing coverage of the ER during the day, at night and on weekends."

"This becomes more overwhelming as fewer doctors are available to provide 24-hr emergency room coverage.

Potentially some doctors may end up doing three or more 24-hour periods of ER coverage in one week as well as their regular clinic hours, surgeries, procedures, evening meetings, etc. in order to keep our hospital open."

"We need to recruit more physicians to help ease the pressure on the doctors that remain in Weyburn so that there can be a good work and family balance in a community in which we love and choose to reside."

"We, the physicians, have been working hard to recruit family doctors into Weyburn for over two years. We have not been successful thus far. We were expecting three physicians this spring (two of which were to take over Dr. Shwe and Dr. Nyunheign's practices), but unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control, these plans fell through."

"We are aware of the concerns of the number of people in and around Weyburn without a family doctor. Family physicians are also feeling the strain of the lack of doctors for the growing population. With Dr. Shwe and Dr. Nyunheign's departure, Weyburn will be short approximately seven family physicians for the population size."

"We, along with the Sun Country Health Region are working to improve the situation of the lack of physicians and are hopeful that we will have new physicians from the SIPPA program in Weyburn by September of this year."

"The SIPPA program (Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment) is for doctors from certain countries trying to get their license in Saskatchewan. They are required to spend three weeks in Saskatoon at the College going through evaluations and writing exams, and if they pass they spend six to 12 weeks in a clinical setting before starting their practice. It is a lengthy process and on some occasions results in a doctor returning to their home country."

"Once these physicians are licensed and ready to practice, they have a two-year obligation in the community that sponsored them."

"The Chamber of Commerce has also been involved with creating a committee called Doctor Recruitment Task Force for assistance in retention of new doctors. Two of our physicians are involved with this committee."

"We are hoping the community will take part in future endeavors with accommodation, cars, banking, etc. to try to attract and retain new doctors to our community. This is in keeping with other communities who are also trying to recruit and retain physicians."

"We will continue to work with the district to help with improving the situation here in Sun Country Health Region. We know that the doctor shortage is having a huge impact on the residents of our community and we understand the concern as it affects us all."

The two doctors will definitely be missed by their patients. "It is difficult to express in words our feelings," said Weyburn resident Shirley Ward, after her husband Harold received a notice letter from Dr. Nyunheign. "We are shocked and had disbelief. Our immediate thoughts were, where do we go now?"

Dr. Nyunheign has been Harold's doctor for four years, and Dr. Shwe provided relief services also during that time.
"Dr. Shwe was my angel because he was there when Harold was diagnosed with cancer. He was always there for us and helped Harold with his cancer."

Harold was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago. Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor prognosis and Harold is considered a "miracle patient" as a four-year survivor.

"Because of his health problems, Harold has frequent appointments and check-ups. When he needs to see a doctor, it needs to be immediate," said Shirley.

Shirley did note that the staff and other physicians at the Weyburn Health Centre have been very understanding of their situation. "The remaining doctors in Weyburn are overloaded. They are stressed, and there is a concern of how much they can take before they also leave."

Due to the patient overload for the other physicians in Weyburn, the list of available doctors in Sun Country Health Region include the communities of Lampman or Estevan.

"This is very much an inconvenience," said Shirley. "We are unable to drive to Regina or Estevan without help. Also, where do you find a doctor in either of those communities?"

"The two doctors who are leaving are quality physicians," said Don Ehman, vice president of human resources for the Sun Country Health Region.

"We are currently working on a plan with the remaining physicians, ensuring proper ER coverage and correct placement of patient files," said Ehman. "There is a concern that patients in Weyburn seeking doctors have to go to other communities, which could overload the physicians in those communities. But we are hopeful that this situation will resolve itself."

A lot of concerned calls have been fielded through the office of Dustin Duncan, MLA for Weyburn-Big Muddy and the Minister of Health. "We have received frequent calls of concern about the physician numbers for a number of months, and now the decision of the doctors discontinuing their practice is adding to that concern," said Duncan.

"There is a larger issue in our health region, since the Sun Country Health Region has acknowledged that we are below a full number of family-physicians in a number of communities in the health region."

"We have faced these problems in smaller communities, but now it becomes a greater challenge because it now affects a larger city centre," said Duncan. "This becomes a brand new problem, since we have doctors leaving Weyburn, and it is a growing community. Certainly, there will be frustration as the health region works to address the physician complement."

John Nilson, health critic for the New Democrat Party, questioned the SaskParty's policies. "The SaskParty does not have a smart-growth plan to make health care sustainable."

"When businesses grow and our resource industry thrives, the province's job is to put a plan in place to recruit more doctors, expand our schools and upgrade our highways," said Nilson. "The doctor shortage is caused by the lack of a plan to ensure our health-care system grows with our communities."

"The SaskParty is struggling to deliver health care in Weyburn. Doctors are leaving and no doctors are accepting new patients right now, at a time when Weyburn is growing. The hospital needs to be replaced, but the SaskParty's budget cut $54 million from health care rather than investing in new hospitals."

"With a strong economy, the SaskParty should not be making cuts to health care," said Nilson. "With growing communities, now is the time to put a plan in place to actively recruit doctors."

In response, Duncan said that the SaskParty has committed to bringing more physicians to the province. "Since coming into office in 2007, we have brought in 270 more physicians into the province, and half of those are family doctors."

"We have also increased the physician training seats, the number of post-graduate physician training seats has doubled, to 120, and the number of undergraduate medical education seats has expanded to 100," said Duncan. He also noted the Rural Family Physician Incentive Program, the creation of a rural physician locum pool, and the success of the SIPPA program.

"We have a multi-faceted approach to recruiting and retaining physicians, however there is still more work needed to do, and this is a very competitive world," said Duncan.

The difficult situation was alerted to the Doctor Recruitment Task Force prior to it becoming public. "This is why we really felt it was important to push forward with our retention and recruitment efforts," said Coun. Laura Morrissette, representing city council on the Doctor Recruitment Task Force.

"I definitely appreciate and applaud the work our current doctors are doing," said Morrissette. "I also applaud the work of the staff and nurses in our community, especially those who are working in the hospital. Everyone is serving our community under huge pressure."

There is a lot of resources out there for the Doctor Recruitment Task Force in achieving their goals. Recently, members of the Task Force attended the information session on physician recruitment and retention, held by the Sun Country Health Region.

"It was neat to see what other communities are doing to recruit and retain physicians," said Morrissette. "I am really proud of the work of the Doctor Recruitment Task Force. We are continuing to look for ideas, and if local businesses want to help, we would definitely welcome that."

"The Doctor Recruitment Task Force is going great after it started up," said Ehman, who represents Sun Country on the task force. "I believe that this committee will work well."

Additional efforts are being negotiated between the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program and the Sun Country Health Region.

"Normally, a community only gets two spots per session, but a request has been made to the Ministry of Health to consider Weyburn an emergency area, so we could get additional spots," said Morrissette."

Duncan provided an important update to the current round of SIPPA applicants, which starts in May. "We have a full round of 30 applicants in the program, and eight of them are coming to the Sun Country Health Region. There are three applicants designated for Weyburn, and there are two others who are currently not assigned to a community."

While previous intakes of the SIPPA program didn't lead to any permanent positions, Duncan still has a lot of hope for the current assessment. "It is a good sign to be maxed out, and it really shows the commitment of the Sun Country Health Region that they have nearly a third of those applicants."

Ehman said that the three current SIPPA candidates that have started their assessment and are designated for Weyburn, should settle later in August - if all the assessments are completed. "Those three doctors will help offset the need. But we are still continuing to recruit for more physicians."