Kamloops, B.C., exploring city-owned and operated medical clinic

After watching another B.C. community launch a medical clinic owned and operated by the municipality, the City of Kamloops is considering whether the same model could solve a longstanding doctor shortage at the confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers. 

In January, the City of Colwood, just outside Victoria on Vancouver Island, opened the Colwood Medical Clinic. Rather than having doctors see patients and also handle paperwork, like in a private practice setting, the city deals with administration and business issues so physicians can focus on providing care. 

"The doctors of today like to work eight to 10 hours a day," Kamloops city councillor Kelly Hall told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. "They do their shift, they want to jump on their mountain bike, they want to go skiing at Sun Peaks. They want to enjoy quality time with their family."

Having the city handle the business side of running a clinic would give doctors that opportunity, he said. 

Hall pitched the idea to the city's mayor and fellow council members, who in turn voted unanimously earlier this month to have city staff work up a clinic proposal. 

The Colwood clinic came about in response to data showing that more than half of Colwood residents did not have a family doctor. The city plans to hire eight physicians in total, each able to take on about 1,250 patients. 

Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi told The Canadian Press there have been a lot of applications, but they're only trying to recruit from out-of-province to avoid poaching physicians with active practices in other B.C. communities. 

"You don't rob Peter to pay Paul," he said. "This is what's making the process a little bit slower than we were hoping." 

Kobayashi said the city-owned clinic currently has one doctor, and employment contracts are soon to be inked with two more. A fourth is expected to be on board by September. 

He said several municipalities, including Kamloops, have inquired about the city-owned model, and though it has experienced "growing pains," the facility's first staff doctor has "become part of the community." 

"She's been absolutely involved in our community, which is a great thing," he said. "It's just been phenomenal." 

While Kamloops does have several family physicians, residents still struggle to find a GP. The city of some 100,000 is also lacking when it comes to in-person walk-in clinics. 

"This is a game changer for the community, in my opinion," Hall said.

He suggested the doctors would be treated as city employees and have access to all the same benefits as city staff — including medical and dental benefits and access to a pension. They would show up to work, treat patients and go home, Hall said, without having to worry about pesky paperwork.