Solutions could be just around the corner for the ongoing emergency room closures at the South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) in Oliver.
The emergency room has been closed eight times so far this month and the most recent closure happened Saturday overnight due to staffing shortages.
“Things really came to a real point of concern in July,” said Oliver’s mayor, Martin Johansen.
“There was, we knew, of a lot of closures, uncovered shifts in August, I think 13, and then (another) 54 in September, and October isn’t looking any better at this point, either.”
According to the mayor of Osoyoos, Sue McKortoff, the amount of money that doctors make while working in the SOGH emergency room is not as high as it is at Penticton Regional.
The issue was top of mind for the Town of Oliver and Osoyoos during the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) Convention last week, at which both towns, along with the hospital’s ER department head, met with Health Minister Adrian Dix.
“What really drove the point home was that we had the physician who’s in charge of the ER Dr. Grewal in that meeting with the minister,” said Johansen.
“She very clearly … did a great job explaining why we need to get this done as quickly as possible.”
During the meeting, Dix approved an Alternative Payment Program (APP) for physicians.
He addressed the new model during a press conference on Thursday.
“We’ve got to listen to our communities. In Oliver, for example, we’ve approved a new way of renumerating, of paying doctors, and supporting doctors, which is called an alternate payment method, which is a move away from what’s called fee-for-service.
“That was developed in working with doctors and so we’re obviously aggressively, both in Grand Forks and in Oliver, taking steps to ensure that we have a maximum response because we know how difficult it is when an ER closure is announced.”
McKortoff says the decision to approve the APP is ‘exciting news.’
“We’re quite happy to have this. At least recognize that this situation is not good, it was not good for the residents of Osoyoos, or Oliver or Penticton.”
However, although the alternative payment program was approved, it will still take some time before it can officially move forward.
“Typically, an APP program to get approval would take two to three months and we got one within a couple of weeks after I started having my initial conversations with Minister Dix,” said Johansen.
“I’m pleased that we that we got this done so quickly. I would say I’m cautiously optimistic, as there’s still a process that we have to go to before APP has to be rolled out.”
Aside from APP, Johansen went on to say that there is still more that needs to be done to address the ongoing problems at the hospital.
“It’s not the silver bullet, but it is a step in the right direction,” he said.
“I think it gives us a foothold and stability, which is really what we’re looking for and something that we can build on as well.”