Doctors Manitoba President Dr. Randy Guzman, and Doctors Manitoba Staff have continued their Rural Outreach Tour with the addition of the IERHA community of Selkirk. The tour itinerary included multiple daytime meetings and tours of local healthcare facilities with an evening event where physicians and staff had an opportunity to connect and engage.

WHY IT MATTERS: Physician shortages are straining health care access, especially in rural and northern communities, leaving patients with less access to care and putting immense pressure on doctors, nurses and health care workers in all communities. The challenges in Selkirk, the only community with a regional health centre in the IERHA, reflect what’s unfolding across the province, threatening patient outcomes and physician well-being.

WHAT WE SAW: After meeting dozens of physicians from Selkirk, we saw how the shortage of doctors is affecting these communities firsthand, including:

• Challenges staffing the Selkirk Regional Health Centre ER and providing coverage to surrounding areas.
• Capacity concerns over Selkirk Medical Centre’s ability to support Medical Learners.
• Selkirk Mental Health’s increasing patient demand due to the methamphetamine epidemic.
• Administrative burden for rural surgical centers using Surgical Waitlist Information Management (SWIM).

Despite these concerns impacting practices, physicians in Selkirk had a strong commitment to providing quality care to their community.

Doctors Manitoba staff will be developing a strategy to engage with groups over their specific needs in the community. The next Rural Outreach trip is scheduled for Dauphin in June. Planning is currently underway.