Health Care Services Delivered in Osoyoos
May 8, 2017
On May 4, 2017 members of Council met with representatives of the physicians practicing in Osoyoos to discuss the current state of health care services delivered in the community and to identify any collaborative efforts that can occur to improve health care services.
There was agreement on the following key items relating to local health service delivery:
- There are areas that the physicians and council can work together to improve the delivery local health services;
- The medical service delivery model is an integrated multi-disciplinary system that needs to be addressed cautiously when considering implementing new delivery tools. Any new delivery model must be developed only after research provides evidence of potential success and impacts on the medical system;
- There are areas of the current system that will be improving with the addition of another physician into the community starting July 2017;
- The current system needs to be assessed and options explored to enable an enhanced delivery of medical services, with a focus on the future growth and demographics of the community. This assessment needs to a collaborative process between Council, local physicians, residents and Interior Health.
Local physicians supported an initiative of the Town of Osoyoos to apply for a Rural Dividend Grant in the amount of $100,000 to hire a consultant to review the medical service needs of the community and develop a feasibility study to enable the development of an medical services center that will enable the delivery of enhanced medical services in the Osoyoos community.Council and the Doctors are committed to ongoing communication and cooperation to eliminate barriers that negatively impact health services in the community.