Here’s what N.L. doctors think could patch up the province’s ailing health-care system – CBC

Team-based care and a salaried payment model could solve N.L.’s woes, doctors say

Oct 04, 2022

Dr. Desmond Whalen’s emergency room in Grand Falls-Windsor is full to bursting these days.

The doctor says it’s a problem of access points. People don’t have family physicians and don’t live close to a walk-in clinic, so they’re showing up to the ER for all manner of ailments.

He’s one of a growing chorus of doctors supporting a new health-care model — one they say will keep those emergency rooms running smoothly.

Whalen points to a shortage of health-care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador underpinning long wait times and emergency room closures. That won’t be fixed overnight, but Whalen says moving toward a collaborative-care model could ease pressure on the system.

Working in teams, he says, will ease burnout and relieve some of the burden on doctors.

Here’s what N.L. doctors think could patch up the province’s ailing health-care system – CBC

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