The Registered Nurses’ Union (RNU) is frustrated with the latest government incentive offered to family physicians willing to sign on to a family care team for a full year’s service.
RNU President Yvette Coffey, who is on a tour of the province meeting with members, says the latest incentive, in addition to the existing physician signing bonus, could amount to a potential $175,000 to $225,000 for physicians who sign a return in service agreement.
She says for years the union has been urging government to implement nurse practitioner-led clinics to help improve access to health care.
She says government’s “continued reluctance” to implement NP-led clinics and the expansion of the union’s travel locum pilot project is “deeply frustrating.”
The provincial NDP is equally frustrated with the incentive announcement, saying it fails to address issues with recruitment and wait times.
Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown says the new family care team in Labrador West has yet to recruit a single doctor.
He questions whether the announcement will help address larger issues facing the health care sector.
Brown says the region has been trying to recruit physicians for years before the pandemic and he doesn’t think the new incentive will change that, although he remains hopeful.
He says recruitment incentives are one thing, but keeping health care professionals in the area is where the provincial government “continues to fumble.”
Brown says housing costs in Lab West are a big disincentive for anyone starting out or moving to the area for work.
“A house that was built in the 1960s is going for half a million dollars,” says Brown. “That’s just unattainable and unaffordable.”