South Okanagan Similkameen Primary Care Network Issues Paper
September 2019
The South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Primary Care Network (PCN) encompasses the entire SOS region. It serves approximately 90,000 residents in 8 communities.
The following paper contains an environmental scan of issues that have surfaced in our region. Input was given by physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Interior Health, Indigenous partners, local government, and patient voices.
Similar concerns were echoed by other Wave 1 communities.
Below is a partial list of concerns, A full list of the issues, clarifications and explanations can be found in the report.
- There has been no interest in GP contracts.
- Expectations around NPs overheads shifted after our funding was approved, without consultation or additional funds.
- Allied Health professional (AH) and Registered Nurse (RN) and Pharmacist overhead is not adequate to cover overhead costs.
- In our experience, NPs need support to transition into full-service family practice.
- Data infra structure is not being co-designed with local PCNs.
- Number of unattached patients calculated by MOH for rural SOS communities isn’t reflective of local experience.
- PCN mandated panel sizes don’t reflect full-service family practice