Doctor Manitoba says province has found doctors but is having trouble keeping them

manitoba has attracted More doctors have come to the province over the past few years, but keeping them here is still an issue, a new report says.

“Even for people who are happy here and have had really good careers here, there are still a lot of challenges,” said Dr. Nicole Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba.

“For some people, the amount of time and effort spent on things like paperwork and clerical duties and navigating the system versus engaging one-on-one with their patient population is no longer worth it.”

In its annual Physicians report in manitobaReleased on Thursday, Doctors Manitoba says the province had a record-breaking net increase of 164 doctors last year.

There are now 225 physicians per 100,000 people, an improvement of 2.5 percent, but still well below the national average of 241.

Doctors Manitoba reports that 246 more physicians will be needed to reach the national average, and 697 more physicians will be needed to become the best in Canada.

Report receives data from Canadian Institute for Health Information and to understand trends, concerns and opportunities related to the province manitoba‘S doctor Resources, Doctors Manitoba said in a news release.

despite progress on recruitmentit year’s research reinforces the need to focus on maintaining doctors we hAvenue, Desilets said.

According to CIHI data, in 2024, Manitoba saw a net loss of 8.3 physicians per 1,000 people compared to other provinces — the second-worst performance of all provinces.

Doctors Manitoba also conducted a survey of its members and 1,318 fully licensed physicians (38 per cent) responded.

Among those who responded:

• 43 per cent were considering reducing their hours, retiring or leaving the province in the next three years.
• 21 per cent were considering retiring or leaving Manitoba in the next three years.
• 56 percent were experiencing distress and 48 percent were experiencing high rates of burnout.

Doctors Manitoba, citing a report from the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons, said that over the past five years, Manitoba has lost an average of 155 doctors annually due to departure or retirement, a rate of four to five per cent.

The advocacy organization said that’s a huge difference from the percentage who said in the Doctors Manitoba survey that they were thinking about it in the next three years.

Furthermore, only 60 per cent of the students and residents who responded to the survey planned to stay in Manitoba. Another 40 percent planned to leave or were undecided.

The number of Manitoba graduates starting practice in the province has dropped from a record high of 87 in 2021 to 70 last year, Doctors Manitoba reports.

Doctors Manitoba said recruiting success over the past few years has largely been due to graduates from outside the province moving to Manitoba.

‘Confusion and despair’

Desilets said frustrations over issues in Manitoba’s health-care system, such as excessive administrative burdens, secret electronic record systems and lack of access to equipment and facilities, have been cited by doctors as major drivers of burnout and distress, and the major reason some are planning to leave.

Doctors are urging the province of Manitoba to improve the environment where physicians work and learn.

This includes increasing consultation and engagement, Desilets said.

He said, “Some doctors have become frustrated and disillusioned with working in an environment where they are ultimately responsible for patient care … but they are working in a system where they cannot control the factors that are influencing patient care.”

He said these could include problems such as medical transportation, access to diagnostic imaging or the inability to expedite surgery wait times for patients.

“Some of those situations are very frustrating.”

Doctors Manitoba recommends streamlining computer systems between referring physicians and specialists, eliminating sick notes and other unnecessary administrative burdens, expanding team-based care and investing in the facilities and equipment physicians need to care for patients.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged that more work needed to be done to overcome administrative barriers.

He said the overall increase of doctors in the system shows that efforts through the NDP’s Office of Health Care Recruitment and Retention are working.

“We’ve worked to expand medical residency training seats (in Winnipeg), and we’ve done the same in Brandon … so that rural students, rural learners have the opportunity to train in their communities, closer to home, and are more likely to stay and serve in those communities,” Asagwara said.

He said it could take years to restore and build up the health care system that suffered cuts under the former Progressive Conservative government.

But Opposition Leader Obi Khan said quality of life, affordability and public safety are considerations for people who want to move to Manitoba rather than live elsewhere.

“It’s clear the NDP is not doing a very good job and people are leaving,” the PC leader said.