Mayor to discuss Doctor recruitment with local medical professionals

It was just a mention at last weeks City Council meeting, one made in the late stages of the session that seemed to slip by most Council observers.

But for those living in Prince Rupert and currently looking for a family doctor; or others with a bit of long range thinking on concerns as the population grows, the need to recruit more medical professionals for the community is a key project for Northern Health to address.

Towards that goal, Mayor Jack Mussallem made mention that he would soon sit down with local medical professionals to work out a plan of approach to bring more doctors to Prince Rupert.

Currently on the Northern Health recruitment pages, there are two listings for Family Practitioners in the Prince Rupert area, along with one listing for a Psychiatrist, the latter a long running listing that has proven hard to fill in recent years.

The ebb and flow of medical professionals in the community in recent years has led to some residents at times having to rely on the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital Emergency ward for basic health care concerns. Something that the city no doubt wishes to avoid in the future, particularly with the prospect of a growing population should some of the many industrial projects proposed for the region ever move forward.

The concern over the staffing level of doctor's in the community is not the only issue for the Northwest however, as providing for proper levels for nursing, technical and support positions seems to be an ongoing effort as well.

There are also a wide range of jobs available in the Prince Rupert region for other aspects of health delivery from Northern Health, of the 84 Northwest positions listed as available for the moment from the jobs posting website, 25 are for employment in Prince Rupert.

Northern Health provides a snapshot of each community and what it has to offer those that they are hoping to recruit, you can review the Prince Rupert version of those pages here.

To review the short comments to Council from the Mayor, view the City Council Video Archive page, the Mayor's very brief comments start at the one hour three minute mark.

For more on items of note from Northern Health see our Archive page for health items, for more on events at Prince Rupert City council see our City Council page.