The province says it will create a provincial agency for doctor recruitment.
Yesterday's throne speech said the precursor to such an agency is the Manitoba Healthcare Providers Network, which is responsible for ongoing medical recruitment and credentialing.
Premier Brian Pallister spoke to rural media by teleconference today. He says doctor recruitment and retention is an issue for many areas, and has resulted in a sense of insecurity, making it hard for communities to expand and recruit business.
"We are really aware that the provision of health care in rural communities has been suffering and has eroded over the last number of years, and to the detriment of those who live in rural communities and who visit and travel to rural communities."
The Manitoba government is reviewing the province's health care system in an effort to reduce waste and inefficiency. Yesterday's throne speech said the review will measure Manitoba's spending on health against three criteria: whether services are being implemented and delivered at a reasonable cost; whether the provision of services is achieving expected outcomes; and whether the results achieved represent value for the money expended.
