'Very flexible' recruitment rules not enough to keep doctor in N.S.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority is touting the success that a more flexible approach is having on doctor recruitment efforts,but one physician who left Cape Breton for Ontario said she didn't find the help she needed while looking for work this summer.

When the authority had no suggestions for her and she was unable to set something up herself, Dutt relocated to Ontario for other opportunities.

"I know it's a complication that I don't want to take on an entire practice," said Dutt.

Dr. Rick Gibson, senior medical director of primary health care with the Nova Scotia Health Authority, said recruitment rules have been criticized as being too rigid.

He said the authority has made changes as a result. For example, itno longer waits for a doctor to retire before looking for a replacement.Recruiting also now focuses on trying to find doctors in communities where retirements are anticipated, but haven't happened yet.

"We've moved to the idea of a provincial pool of vacancies and we just draw from the vacancies when we have a doctor interested in a specific community," said Gibson. "So, we're very flexible now."

He said the authority would not have stood in Dutt's way had she found an arrangement that worked for her.

Dutthad been splitting her time between working in public health and family medicinein Cape Breton since 2015 when she contacted the authority this summer. She washopingto do three or four days a week in a family medicine officeto compensate for a drop in public health work.

Duttnowworks one day a week in family medicine in Ontario and in public health the rest of the time. She said she'd like to find her way back to Cape Breton, but currently sees no opportunity for a similar arrangement.

She said for the system to truly improve and patients to be best served, the health authority must be as flexible as possible when it comes to recruiting and doctors need to be willing to work in ways that break from long-standing traditions.

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