Ever since it was announced earlier this year that Dr. Edward Krickan – a popular addition to the Estevan physician community with a specialty in obstetrics – would be leaving Estevan and returning to his home province of B.C., there has been speculation about the future of obstetrical services in the city.
It appears a solution has been reached, and it’s just about as good of a solution as could be hoped for.
The South East Family Medicine, Obstetrical and Surgical Group, formerly known as the South East Medical Group, has been formed. Krickan will still practise in Estevan on a part-time basis, travelling back and forth from B.C. to Estevan, and he will be joined by Dr. Brian Geller, who is currently working as a locum in Estevan, and Dr. Christy Trafananko, who will join the group in January to provide obstetrical coverage.
Estevan’s previous gynecologist, Dr. Ahmad Sawwan, announced earlier this year that he was leaving.
The announcement regarding obstetrical services should bring relief to those who were wondering what would happen in the city once Krickan left Estevan.
Not lost in the announcement is that Dr. Andrey Babkis has committed to the provision of anesthesiology services in Estevan moving forward.
Estevan has been without a permanent anesthesiologist since Dr. Anthony Davies left the city last year, and has been relying on locums for this important delivery of a service.
It’s unfortunate that some people insisted on rushing to comment regarding the obstetrics situation, particularly on social media, without having evidence or facts. It wasn’t long after Krickan’s departure was announced that people started claiming that obstetric services at St. Joe’s were going to be put on hiatus.
This was incorrect. It was never stated anywhere that obstetric services were going to be interrupted indefinitely at the hospital. But people rushed to conclusions, and added to the difficult situation the hospital is facing.
We don’t understand why people feel the need to spread misinformation, rumours and falsehoods. Maybe fiction is more fun than facts. Maybe they’re not willing to do their homework. Or perhaps they’re just plain gullible.
Regardless, obstetric services are staying at St. Joe’s. And a solution has been found to the lack of a permanent anesthesiologist at the hospital.
It’s frustrating for local residents to hear about a shortage of physicians in Estevan, or to see a revolving door. We often find ourselves in a situation in which a physician will come here, build up a rapport with patients, and then leave for another opportunity.
Many people have their theories as to why physicians are leaving, but we’re not alone in facing this challenge. There are more jobs for medical doctors in Canada than there are physicians. So it means that when they want to move on to another community, they can.
You don’t see physicians come to a community and stay for decades like you used to.
It’s important for St. Joseph’s to have as large of a fleet of services as possible, and to have a roster of physicians large enough to allow them to have a work-life balance.
At the very least, now that a solution has been reached regarding the delivery of obstetrics and anesthesiology services in Estevan, the people tasked with bringing physicians to Estevan can focus on our other needs, such as boosting the number of family doctors in the city.
As for the recruitment of the physicians we have here, that seems to have become the bigger challenge, one that Estevan is not alone in facing.
