by Sarah Bragg, President & CEO, Saanich Peninsula Hospital & Healthcare Foundation –
Access to comprehensive healthcare in the community directly impacts our hospital. The Saanich Peninsula Hospital & Healthcare Foundation is working to support not only our hospital, but community healthcare as well. Our relationship with the Shoreline Medical Society, a well-known organization that provides primary care to Peninsula residents and recruits physicians to the community, shows the importance of this work and relationship.
The Saanich Peninsula Hospital (SPH) operates under a rural-based practice model, meaning it relies on the help of local family physicians to staff our Emergency Department rather than employing full-time hospitalists. Although this system is a win/win in that it provides career opportunities for physicians in both a clinic and hospital setting and gives patients more access to consistent therapeutic care, it also means the hospital is vulnerable to physician shortages. A shortage of doctors in the community means a shortage of doctors at SPH.
By supporting the Shoreline Medical Society during our 2018/19 campaign, we wanted to help make primary care more accessible to everyone on the Peninsula, both in emergency and primary care. Our goal at that time was to help Shoreline Medical Centre expand into two clinics – one in Sidney and the other in Brentwood Bay – to attract new doctors who could accept thousands of patients into their practices.
Thanks to the support of the community, we reached our goal, raising $2 million to help fund renovations and equipment purchases for Shoreline’s expansion. Today, the clinics have attracted 25 physicians who are attached to nearly 17,000 patients in our community – that’s over 40% of the population on the Peninsula.
Yet in spite of this inspiring success story, the physician shortage continues to worsen. Much like the rest of the province, Vancouver Island faces a critical shortage of family doctors. We know our work to recruit and retain physicians in our community must continue.
We are pleased to announce that in the last few months we made another significant financial contribution towards the Shoreline Medical Society. This donation not only helps provide local residents with much-needed access to primary care, but also relieves some of the pressure on our valued local hospital.
The Saanich Peninsula Hospital & Healthcare Foundation is very proud to be a trusted funding partner of our hospital and support the doctors from our community who work in the Emergency and Acute Care Departments in addition to their regular workload. These physicians provide comprehensive care for everyone in the community, and we are especially grateful for their dedication. With the continued support of our community we pledge to be part of the solutions to current and future healthcare challenges for our neighbours.
