The BC Government says it has committed $7.5 million in permanent funding to help stabilize physician emergency-room coverage in Merritt, Oliver, and Salmon Arm.

It says these three communities and the surrounding areas will “soon have better access to emergency care” with Interior Health said to be working with local physicians on the three service contracts for emergency services at these hospitals.

“B.C., like all jurisdictions in Canada, is facing recruitment and retention challenges that were exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing toxic-drug crisis and the rising number of patients with complex health-care needs, and we know that these challenges are more prominent in rural and remote communities,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement.

“That is why we are taking immediate actions to bolster the recruitment of more physicians for our patients and their care teams.”

The province says the funding for the Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Centre in Merritt, and the Shuswap Lake General Hospital in Salmon Arm was approved last Tuesday, Oct. 10. Funding for the South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver was approved on Sept. 29.

“We’re pleased to be moving forward with new compensation models for physicians in our rural communities,” Susan Brown, Interior Health’s President and CEO said.

“This is another step forward to stabilizing health services for rural residents as it will support our recruitment efforts going forward.”

The Province says the new contracts will help their efforts to recruit more physicians in rural communities as they will be compensated for their time spent at the hospital caring for patients with complex and time-intensive needs.

This is a shift from the fee-for-service payment model under which physicians were paid based primarily on the number of patients they see in a day.

“This investment will help ensure patients have stable access to emergency care, while we know there is more to do,” Dix added, noting the new contracts build on short-, medium- and long-term efforts by the Province and Interior Health to stabilize emergency-department services in rural and remote communities.

“Through our Health Human Resources Strategy, we are also committed to train, recruit and retain more people into our workforce, including providing incentives to attract physicians working in rural communities such as Merritt, Salmon Arm and Oliver.”