ROB MURRAY: I speaking with Dr. Kendra Barrick from the Bow Valley Primary Care Network. There’s something that I think the community is starting to tune in to – If you go to the Bow Valley PCN website and go to the normally helpful ‘Find a Doctor’ tab, every single doctor in the Bow Valley right now is saying that they’re not accepting new patients. I also know that at least one doctor in town is leaving or closing down their client list, so it’s both newcomers to our community and people who’ve been here for a long time who are having a hard time finding a family doctor. What’s going on?

DR. KENDRA BARRICK: It has been really tough on patients and it’s going to be tough on the community. I do want to acknowledge that right now we are having a shortage of family physicians, and right now none of the family physicians in the Bow Valley are actively accepting new patients. We wish that we could, but unfortunately this would mean longer wait times and poor care for currently rostered patients. That being said, we’ve been working really hard on many things both from a clinic level (all clinics are experiencing this in Canmore and Banff) as from the PCN level. We’re getting to the point where we’re liaising with local organizations to optimize strategies for recruitment of doctors.

RM: So you’re working on it and hope to have a solution at some point in the future?

KB: Absolutely, and there are multiple factors. COVID is one of the factors. We have to remember that people are exhausted mentally and physically, so trying to recruit and get someone to move across the country, leave their community and their support network, is already a challenge. Add that to the rising inflation rates and cost of living in Canmore and Banff. Finally, with the struggles with our government, family physicians aren’t necessarily feeling the most supported. There are multiple factors playing into the challenges of this.

RM: We’re a couple of years into the COVID-19 pandemic. Life is starting to feel a little bit like normal once again, but I’d imagine it’s been a pretty exhausting time for our local family doctors and clinics.

KB: I really appreciate you acknowledge that it’s been exhausting, but it also has been exhausting for patients. For local physicians and for our clinic staff there’s been a ton of pressure to change how we practice medicine so that we can keep our community safe. Now, with the doctor shortage, we’re feeling a lot more pressure. We’re really trying and I hope that we can recruit physicians soon. All we ask is just please be patient with our front desk staff, our nursing staff, our physicians. We are working as hard as we can, and we will communicate when we can recruit successfully.

RM: With the doctor crunch we’re in right now, do you have any advice for people who are patients of a family doctor to make everything efficient for everybody?

KB: Sometimes you no longer need the appointment, so if you don’t need it just call us because there is someone else that needs it. Additionally, just making sure that you’re ready and on time for your appointment and make it as efficient as possible. Prioritize what’s most important, what hasn’t received the attention that it needs. If we need to we’ll make another appointment to address all of the healthcare needs that require the appropriate attention.

RM: What about for those who don’t have a family doctor? What options are available to them if they need medical attention?

KB: We’re seeing this number is increasing and hopefully this will be rectified when we recruit a few more doctors. For those people who do not have a family doctor either because they’re new to the Bow Valley or because their family doctor has retired or is leaving the Bow Valley, do remember that there are two clinics where walk-in appointments are available. That is the Alpine Medical Clinic in Banff and the Ridgeview Medical Clinic in Canmore. Please call ahead in the morning to see if you can get a same day or walk-up. Obviously, if that’s not working and you require urgent emergency care, you can call 911 or go to either the emergency rooms. The doctors there understand our shortage and are really helpful in helping patients out. As family physicians, we’re so thankful for all the added care that our emergency doctors are providing.

Filed under: Banff, Bow Valley PCN, Canmore