Sask. health authority now handling doctor recruitment

The provincial health authority will now directly look after doctor recruitment instead of the provincial government.

The Physician Recruitment Agency of Saskatchewan will transition to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) on July 23. The agency focuses on the recruitment and retention of physicians and healthcare professionals in the province.

This transition will help align recruitment efforts with the SHA’s physician resource planning and ensure that physicians are practising in communities where they are most needed.

“People in rural, northern and urban communities throughout the province continue to have better access to physician care,” Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit said. “The efforts of SaskDocs, along with other recruitment and retention initiatives introduced by our government, have resulted in 900 more licensed doctors and 3,700 more nurses in Saskatchewan than in 2007.”

There will also be a continued focus on retention and recruitment of other valued health professionals.