Could a new hospital address the doctor shortage in Algoma?

Physicians believe more patients would have improved access to health-care services under proposal to replace existing hospitals in Thessalon and Richards Landing

Physicians in the Algoma District have unveiled a new model for health care that would see two rural hospitals amalgamate into a new, modernized hospital. 

Earlier this week, a collective of doctors held a public meeting in Desbarats to discuss the proposal, which is centred on merging hospitals in Thessalon and Richards Landing into a new health-care facility with 12 to 15 inpatient beds.

Dr. William Crawford says the vision would allow the North Shore Health Network to provide acute inpatient care at a fully-functioning hospital site — which could potentially lead to attracting young doctors to the north shore in the future.

“There are improvements that have been made, but really they’re just kind of band-aids,” said Crawford, a physician based in Richards Landing.

“It’s not going to attract new doctors.”

There are a total of 10.5 physician contracts between Richards Landing, Bruce Mines and Thessalon under the Rural and Northern Physician Group Agreement, but not enough doctors to fill all of those positions.

“Currently there are four doing all that work,” Crawford said.

“If we attracted a full complement of doctors we could take on probably another 4,000 patients into the primary care, which would change dynamics very much.”

Crawford says current staffing arrangements would be changed under the proposed plan so that prospective doctors wouldn’t be obligated to provide both primary and emergency care.

Right now, there are just two physicians in Richards Landing who cover a full clinic, in addition to an emergency department that’s supposed to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“At the moment our contracts require us to do hospital work as well as clinic work as part of the contract, which is an old model,” he said.

“It worked very well when it did, but young doctors don’t really want to do what we do.”

The interim CEO of the North Shore Health Network says the board of directors have engaged Agnew Peckham, a company that specializes in health-care and facility planning, to submit a proposal for the amalgamation of hospital sites in Richards Landing and Thessalon to Ontario’s Ministry of Health. 

“There’s a lot of support for the two facilities in their home communities, but these are hospitals that have no beds and have very little capability to deliver hospital services,” David Murray told SooToday.

“The way these communities have been treated over the last 20 or 30 years has probably not been really fair — but now is the time to make some concrete steps forward and do what makes the most sense for the region.”

Murray says recurring closures at emergency departments in both Thessalon and Richards Landing have accounted for 60 per cent of all such closures in Ontario in the last year.

While both hospitals provide point-of-care lab services, Murray says the two small facilities do not have diagnostic imaging capabilities or adequate lab services.

That means on any given day across the region, patients are transferred to either Sault Ste. Marie or Elliot Lake for a CAT scan.

“A lot of places have challenges, but nothing compares to what we see — and primarily in Thessalon,” he said.

“Part of the problem is that if physicians don’t want to work in an area that doesn’t have good diagnostics and good lab capabilities, those are very risky situations.

“So, even the best physician needs to have the right tools and supports to provide good care.”

Crawford believes the combined operating costs for the Thessalon and Richards Landings hospital sites could be equivalent to the costs associated with operating a small hospital with up to 15 inpatient beds.

He says the construction of a new hospital would also address aging health-care centres like the hospital in Richards Landing, which is 102 years old. 

“They don’t really serve us well — we do our work in spite of them,” Crawford said. 

Murray says a the construction of a new health-care facility would help ensure communities in central Algoma have access to improved primary and community-based care.

There hasn’t been any capital investment in the area for about 30 years, he added. 

“This project, while it’s considerable for our area of our size, is still quite modest from a provincial standpoint, and it would really help solve a number of problems,” Murray said.

Crawford initially presented the idea to the board of directors at the North Shore Health Network last year — and now, a small group of physicians in central Algoma are looking to mobilize the public in supporting the proposal.  

He says the next steps will include the formation of a committee to steer the project, as well as launching a website to keep the public informed.

“We want to form a proper committee to further the project in consultation with the hospital and the government,” Crawford said.

The North Shore Health Network’s interim CEO commended the physicians for hosting this week’s public meeting in Desbarats, which was attended by more than 200 people.  

“They are definitely strong advocates and they are showing great community leadership,” Murray said.