A community on northern Vancouver Island, currently part of the locally-formed Rural Health Alliance, is looking at the option of physician assistants to ease its impending emergency medical crisis.
Port Hardy Mayor Pat Corbett-Labatt says with a pair of doctors set to leave the region, they are going to be down to one doctor for a community of roughly 5,500 by the beginning of July.
“For a population our size, we should have seven full-time doctors serving our community and surrounding communities.”
However, she says they are looking at physician assistants — who are medically trained individuals who work directly with doctors– to fill the void.
“Our Council is totally aware that they are not regulated in BC quite yet, they are regulated in many other provinces but not in BC. But we are willing to look outside the box and we are willing to be a pilot project for them to see if they will work in BC.”
Corbett-Labatt says they have fired off a letter to the Health Minister, asking for approvals for the physician assistants to become activated in Port Hardy.
“I am very, very hopeful that Minister Dix will get back to us fairly shortly. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will be positive.”
Thus far, she says they have yet to get a response.
-With Files From Abby Zieverink