Doctor shortage frustrates Hay River

Hay River needs to set itself apart from other rural communities trying to lure doctors, says a physician who has treated local residents for five years.

Hay River, a town of about 3,600 on the southern shore of Great Slave Lake, has a medical clinic and hospital but no permanent doctor.

Temporary physicians, known as locums, come into Hay River on short-term contracts to fill the void, a solution that frustrates patients and Robert Bouchard, the Hay River North member in the Northwest Territories legislature.

Bouchard says people have to repeat their medical histories with each new face, and the quality of care suffers.

But Dr. Ben McInnis, who has worked under temporary contracts in Hay River, says the cost of local real estate and the lack of recreation make some doctors reluctant to stay.

Rural areas need to make themselves more attractive to potential doctors, McInnis said.

"Small communities often need to focus on what makes their community stand out from all the other hundreds or thousands of small towns in Canada that are also trying to attract permanent physicians."

Bouchard suggests local people team up with the health authority to attract permanent physicians to Hay River.