No oncologist in the Hat right now
By Gillian Slade on November 25, 2017.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade Medicine Hat Regional Hospital is currently operating with no oncologist. Dr. Soundouss Raissouni, oncologist at the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre, is now on maternity leave. The position for a locum has been advertised since May but Alberta Health Services has not been successful in filling it, said Dr. J. Dean Ruether, medical director community oncology. The primary need is coverage for the oncologist on maternity leave for a year. “We are probably at a point where we could justify having two medical oncologists there (in Medicine Hat) full time,” said Ruether. In the meantime, a triage process takes place and patients are referred to Lethbridge or Calgary. Patients then come back to Medicine Hat with a treatment plan that can be carried out in Medicine Hat, said Ruether. “We certainly have heard from patients who don’t like the idea of having to travel but people have been pretty understanding.” There are a range of oncologists from major areas who travel to various parts of the province, including Medicine Hat, but there are staffing shortfalls in the teriary centres and that is affecting this program, said Ruether. “They’ve certainly been good about doing that but we just don’t have the number of oncology physicians we need in the province,” said Ruether. It can be more challenging to attract a specialist to a rural area compared to a teaching hospital linked to a university with research opportunities, said Ruether. “A community oncology practise is very different than what you would be doing in a tertiary centre environment. It is a unique individual and a special fit, finding someone who is looking for that kind of a work environment with oncology,” said Ruether. All four regional cancer centres — Grand Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer — have challenges recruiting, he said. In general it is difficult to get enough oncologists. Across the country there are advertisements. It is a very competitive environment. “It is a unique person who would be looking for that kind of practice,” said Ruether. There is an increasing demand for oncologists because the increased cases of cancer being diagnosed and because we have more treatment options now. For a patient offered one course of treatment 10 or 15 years ago, there are three or four options now and these can be offered in sequence. 17
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