The Medicine Hat Regional Hospital is pictured in an undated photo

By Charles Lefebvre

AHS still searching for full-time oncologist for Medicine Hat

Oct 4, 2019 | 5:04 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Alberta Health Services is still looking for a permanent oncologist for the Medicine Hat region.

The previous full-time oncologist in the city left Medicine Hat at the end of June.

Dr. Dean Ruether, director of the community oncology program, says temporary solutions have been in place in the interim to ensure patients in Medicine Hat receiving cancer treatment have continued care.

“We have a physician hired in a temporary capacity for six months, and we have a visiting oncologist who comes from the Tom Baker (Cancer Centre) on a weekly basis to do a clinic,” he said on Friday. “We are providing some services by tele-health clinics as well.”

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However, recruitment for a full-time oncologist is ongoing, and Ruether says it remains a challenge to recruit. He says there is a shortage of oncologists in the country, due to retirements and attrition, and it’s a challenge to recruit people to smaller communities.

“Most people who work in this position want to work in a larger centre, where they have access to and the support of colleagues they work with,” he said. “There are more treatments that can be done in a larger centre, than can be done in a smaller regional site. it’s difficult to be a lone practitioner in this kind of environment.”

In addition to Medicine Hat, Ruether is also recruiting full-time oncologists for Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie.