VICTORIA - A new $10-million provincewide program will benefit rural communities and support physicians by improving patient access to rural emergency services.
Funding of up to $200,000 per year will be provided to groups of rural, fee-for-service physicians who commit to work as a team to ensure reliable public access to emergency services at their rural community hospital.
Physicians will work with the regional health authority to develop a community-specific plan for how funding might best be applied.
Examples of how the funding might be used include:
• Hiring additional physicians (full-time or part-time).
• Engaging additional, temporary, locum support.
• Incentives for weekend, holiday or night shift coverage.
• Hiring additional, other health-care service providers (e.g., nurse practitioners, nurses etc.) to help manage patient volumes.
• Purchasing equipment.
This new program was created by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural issues (JSC), a joint committee of the Province and the BC Medical Association (BCMA) established to enhance the delivery of rural health care across B.C.
Applications for funding will be accepted by the JSC with money distributed to successful applicants through the regional health authority. The JSC will begin accepting applications immediately. The JSC will evaluate the success of the program at both a community and provincial level on an annual basis.
The new funding is part of a series of targeted investments, totaling $180 million, to enhance patient care as outlined in the 2009 Memorandum of Agreement between the Province and the BCMA. Approximately half this funding is directed toward improving access to services for patients, while the remainder focuses on targeted labor market adjustments to improve recruitment and retention.
Further information governing the implementation and administration of this new program will be provided through health authorities.
Health Minister Michael de Jong said, "Rural physicians play a key role in supporting the health of B.C. families. We recognize that maintaining public access to emergency services in addition to their office practices has been difficult for some communities. This new program supports physicians and health authorities to work together to devise comprehensive, community-specific solutions and reflects our commitment to ensure the provision of health services is looked at through a rural lens."
There are about 60 rural hospitals in B.C. that provide emergency services on a fee-for-service basis.
B.C. has implemented the most comprehensive set of incentive programs in Canada to encourage physicians to set up practice and reside in rural B.C. communities. These programs include:
• Rural Recruitment Incentive Fund for full-time physicians to relocate.
• Rural Recruitment Contingency to assist with recruiting costs.
• Rural funding to support ongoing professional development.
• Rural GP and specialist locum programs to provide temporary physician support to enable physicians in small communities to take time off for vacations/professional development.
• The Northern Isolation Travel Assistance Outreach Program (NITAOP) to provide interim supplemental professional support for physicians in rural communities. The Family Physicians for BC program (FP4BC) to provide incentives for recently graduated family physicians to establish practice in underserved communities.
For more information on the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues and the programs it sponsors to support rural communities, please visit: www.health.gov.bc.ca/pcb/rural_jsc.html
– Ministry of Health