The Arcola-Carlyle area is on the long road of recovering from the doctor shortage experienced over the past couple years.
Due to serious doctor shortage, Sun Country Health Region had suspended acute care and in-patient services at Arcola Health Centre in November 2009. This problem worsened when Redvers' sole physician left in December 2009, promoting the closure of a second acute care facility in the southeast corner of the province.
These area communities decided they weren't going to let their hospitals go without a fight. Thus, seven months later, Sun Country Health Region re-instated emergency and in-patient services at Arcola Health Centre. This was just over six months ago, thanks to the tireless work of the Moose Mountain Health Care Recruitment Committee members who successfully recruited three physicians two work out of Arcola Family Health. The committee has since recruited a fourth doctor.
As for Redvers, the community recruited two physicians to work at the medical clinic the past summer, however, emergency and in-patient services at the hospital remain suspended until further notice.
Carlyle Primary Health Clinic experienced issues, as well, in the past few months, when the clinic's full-time physician took an extended leave of absence due to an illness.
Dr. Meyer recently returned to work, giving the clinic a sense of routine again.
During her absence, various locums as well as Dr. Jamel assisted patients needing care at the clinic.
Dr. Jamel - a physician out of Brandon - has worked in the Carlyle Primary Health Clinic for the past few months. She came partially to assist the clinic while Dr. Meyer was on leave due to an illness.
"Basically in the Primary Health for [the Carlyle] clinic, we have space for two doctors," says Marga Cugnet, Interim CEO for Sun Country Health Region. "We have Dr. Meyer there - she's one full time physician - and right now we have Dr. Jamel (SP?) coming. She's sort of a quarter-time physician."
Though staffing levels are in much better shape in Arcola and Carlyle today compared to a year ago, Cugnet says the health region is keeping its options open as far as future recruitment.
"Right now, Dr. Jamel has said that she may look at moving to a half time position, but that hasn't been confirmed, so we're still in continual discussions with her," she says. "If a doctor came in and said right now they're willing to do full-time, we'd very seriously entertain reviewing them because we still want to look at [having] two [full-time] doctors [in Carlyle]," Cugnet explains.
In the meantime, Dr. Meyer is back working pretty much full time at the Carlyle Primary Care Clinic. She is also back in full acute care rotation at Arcola Health Centre with the four physicians who work out of Arcola Family Health.
