The doctor will be in at the Fort St. James emergency room for the rest of the month, but it's not enough to solve the medical crisis in the community, according to some local residents.
With just one full-time doctor in town, the ER has been open inconsistently and that's creating confusion for patients.
On Wednesday, Fort St. James resident Dave Marshall needed to see a physician to get the stitches in his leg checked out -- he'd been cut after a fall on a fishing trip last week. He had seen a note posted in town saying the there was no doctor available in Fort St. James so he drove to Vanderhoof. The emergency room there refused to see him since a doctor had been subsequently located in Fort St. James. Marshall had to head back up the highway to get treatment making what could have been a short visit into a full-day endeavor.
"I think we need some doctors here really fast," Marshall said. "We need doctors up here bad. I'm not sure how we're going to get them in, but I think Northern Health is going to have to step up."
There is some temporary relief coming. Northern Health has secured locum coverage for most of the rest of July, which will keep the emergency room doors open for now.
It will be open beginning Saturday at 8 a.m. through Monday at 8 a.m. It will also be open on an alternating day and overnight schedule through Aug. 1.
A spokesman for Northern Health said work is still ongoing to find a more permanent solution and an announcement is expected shortly.
Sue Amyot, a retired nurse living in Fort St. James, said the lack of doctors is causing a host of problems in the community, particularly among seniors. She said some people with chronic conditions are unable to secure appointments.
"You have to phone at nine o'clock in the morning and try to get an appointment for that day," she said. "Usually within 15 minutes the appointments for that are filled up, so they're not even bothering to go for checkups right now. Some of them are thinking about moving, their conditions are becoming more acute and less treatable."
Amyot was working in Fort St. James when the emergency room opened in 1972 and worked there for 25 years. She's worried about what will happen now if there's an emergency and no doctor to deal with it.
"It's like someone having a baby here and runs into trouble, that half hour or three-quarters of an hour mean life or death," she said.
The July/August edition of the BC Medical Journal contains an employment listing for four general practitioner positions in Fort St. James. The advertisement emphasizes "a substantial recruitment incentive" and "high-income potential" for doctors who sign on for a two-year commitment.
Amyot said in addition to the financial package, recruiters should emphasize other aspects of the community such as its access to the outdoors.
