Kaslo doctors seek solutions to community health care coverage
By Colin Payne
A petition is circulating in Kaslo that health care advocates in the community hope will help keep full-time emergency care at the local Victorian Community Health Centre, despite a decision by Interior Health to cut back emergency care in the community to business hours on weekdays.
In December 2013 a group of local doctors came forward and said they would be interested in working on a fee-for-service model if there were enough support in the community, instead of their current contract model in an effort to keep full-time emergency care in Kaslo.
The fee for service model would see doctors get paid by billing the government for each instance of service they provide. This is compared to the current model in the community under the province’s Alternative Payment Program, which hires doctors on a contract basis, which provides a regular salary.
In the meantime, Interior Health has allowed the Kaslo ER doctors to keep round-the-clock coverage in hopes that a solution can be worked out.
Community gets behind its doctors
“They want to give this group of physicians an opportunity to see if they could make a viable option to use a fee-for-service model versus the current contract model,” says Maggie Winters of the Kaslo and Area D Health Care Working Group.
“It’s really a matter of the physicians working with Interior Health and finding some available funding from the ministry to see if it’s a viable option.”
The fee-for-service model depends on a regular flow of patients visiting doctors to provide them with a stable income, and Winters notes that there has been a fall off in local patient numbers recently due to problems accessing services at the Kaslo hospital.
“Some people have made the decision to seek services in Nelson because there have been so many times when we didn’t have a physician here,” she says. “There were issues with wait times and things like that. But we think those people will come back.”
And while she said it’s ultimately up to the doctors and Interior Health to come to an arrangement that works, the community is trying to support the efforts by getting signatures from locals on a petition in favour of the move.
“These are doctors who have had experience in Kaslo,” she notes. “I’m sure there’s some desire to support a small community. And they have to be committed to rural health care . . . We’re just looking at other ways we can support them.”
IH open to discussions about health care coverage
For its part, Interior Health has shown a willingness to work with the Kaslo doctors and residents to help keep coverage.
“Interior Health has remained open to solutions that ensure Kaslo and area residents have good access to high-quality primary care and to the emergency services they need,” said Dr. Michael Purdon, executive medical director or Community and Residential Services in a press release from Interior Health.
“More discussions are needed to see if we have found an answer to the longstanding staffing challenges at the Kaslo health centre, and we felt it was important to hold off on any permanent changes to see if there is an alternative solution.”
“We anticipate discussions over the next three months or so will allow us to see what’s possible to best meet the health care needs of the Kaslo area,” said Interior Health Vice President or Community Integrated Health Services, Andrew Neuner.
“It’s encouraging to have a group of physicians committed to having these discussions with us. This will allow us the time needed to thoroughly examine the options for physician coverage and ensure that we also have the appropriate staffing plan in place.”
Kaslo ER still closed periodically
According to press releases issued by Interior Health, the Kaslo emergency room has been closed from 5p.m. to 9 a.m. about one night per week during the month of January 2014 due to limited physician availability.
The release advises Kaslo residents in need of emergency care to call 911 or visit the emergency department at Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson.
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