Why did Dr. Ennis have to leave?
Health issues made it difficult for beloved Sahtu physician to do locum visits
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, February 1, 2016
LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
A doctor who had been serving Norman Wells and the Sahtu region says his own heart health issues made regional travel duties too difficult to continue.
Norman Wells residents had expressed disappointment that the health department didn't hire Dr. Rob Ennis permanently, as he had been willing to live and work in the community on a permanent basis.
In an e-mail to News/North, Ennis explained that had been working in Norman Wells and performing locum duties in three other communities in the Sahtu region: Deline, Tulita and Fort Good Hope.
Ennis had also served as a locum doctor in Fort Simpson and the Deh Cho region.
But, Ennis said he is looking for a practice with less demanding travel requirements due to his own ongoing heart health issues. He outlined his position in a letter to administrators on Jan. 28.
"After 2 to 3 locums in Norman Wells I truly enjoyed it there. However, the travel each month 3 weeks a month to peripheral sites again is/was not conducive to my own health. As such a full time job traveling constantly is not possible for me," he states in the letter.
"If a job comes up in the future in Norman Wells where I could live in that community each day and be there each day and night both for myself and for my new family, then I would gladly consider such a job."
Travel is currently a vital component for physicians working in the Sahtu region, said Patricia Kyle, the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority's chief executive officer. While she couldn't comment on Ennis' situation due to privacy concerns, Kyle said that even if a full-time physician was hired for Norman Wells, that physician would still be required to travel throughout the Sahtu region.
"When we are working with physicians who want to work in the Sahtu, we are responsible for the entire region," she said.
Doctors usually spend about five days from Monday to Friday in each community. They are also required to be on-call throughout the day, evenings and on weekends if nurses require advice.
There are four full-time nurses in Norman Wells.
But with the completion of the community's new health and social services centre and long term care facility,
those requirements could change, Kyle said.
"The new health and social service facility and long-term care facility kind of gives us an opportunity to re-examine how physician services are provided in the region," she said.
Construction on the facility is expected to be completed by November, but it's not yet known when health care will start being delivered in the new building, Kyle said. In the meantime, Norman Wells and the region will continue to be served by locum doctors until early next year.
Ennis said in his letter that if requirements were to change, he would still be open to moving to Norman Wells permanently.
"Again, my time in the Sahtu was awesome and I truly desire a simple and peaceful life," he stated in his letter.
