Residents in Kipling are concerned about their community’s future in health care after finding out two of their three doctors will be leaving town by the end of January.

“They have bought out their contracts. To me, a contract is not only legally binding, it’s also morally and ethically binding,” expressed the town’s mayor Pat Jackson.

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), the reason for the physician’s departures are due to “personal reasons.”

However, with the irregularity of family doctors in the community, Jackson said people have been travelling to Moosomin and Broadview – both about an hour away - for appointments, emergency services and other medical needs.

“I have two concerns, one is for the health and safety of my community,” Jackson shared.

“Moosomin, Broadvidew, Regina, we have people going to all places. Thats taken care of, but remember Im also the mayor, which means Ive got to be thinking about the economic health of the community.

“Let’s say you’ve got hurt in some manner, off you go to Moosomin [where] you’re probably going to pick up some fuel, maybe have a lunch, get some groceries, all of those things. That’s starting to have an impact and it’s going to continue to have an impact on our community.”

Unfortunately, a similar situation happened to the community back in summer 2024, added Jackson.

“At the end of June, two of our physicians, a husband and wife left,” she explained.

“We knew they were going to go. They stayed longer than they originally had contracted for, but when their son graduated from high school, they chose to leave. Perfectly legitimate.”

During that time, SHA expanded its virtual physician program at the Kipling Integrated Health Centre to help sustain and support access to emergency health services.

To date, the program is still being utilized at the hospital, among other communities like Porcupine Plain, Oxbow, Broadview, Davidson, Gravelbourg, Lanigan, and Redvers.

“The doctors never hid that they were leaving town at the end of June last year, everyone in town knew,” voiced Glen McMillan, a resident of Kipling and former member of Kipling & District Health Foundation.

“When we got to the end of June, SHA starts scrambling. Now they say all along that they were watching out, but the fact of the matter was they didn’t have any doctors lined up. Is it their problem, is it our problem, or both our problems? Who is responsible for obtaining doctor services?”

About three years ago, McMillan was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma cancer. He said it is heartbreaking to see the limit of services in his home community.

“Most of us are where we are because we love it. I’m in Kipling because that’s where our car business was, we farmed in the area, we raised purebred cattle in the area, I think it’s fair to say why I understand why people love farming,” he expressed.

“Regardless, it’s a situation where people have to make decisions. I just keep going elsewhere for my healthcare or what do I do? Because there’s lots of levels of healthcare. When you’re diagnosed with cancer or you have a gallbladder referral that you need to go to Regina or whichever it is, there’s a lot of different levels, some of them are urgent and some of them aren’t.”

SHA told CTV News they are aware of the current conditions in Kipling and are recruiting new doctors, some of them through the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program.

“The next group of physicians are just starting, and we won’t know (where they will go) until they get closer to the end of that time of their training,” explained Trent Truscott, Director of Primary Health Care in southeast network #7 of SHA.

“It’s about six months so we don’t have anyone assigned and we won’t know until closer to that end of that time frame. In the meantime, however, the jobs are still posted and we would interview and screen any physician who is qualified and ready to work if they wanted to come work in Kipling.”

Although no exact timeline of when more doctors will be going to Kipling, Truscott said the town will have three full-time healthcare workers after January.

“Even after these two doctors leave, we have a very qualified, very good physician working in Kipling,” he stated.

“We have a very good nurse practitioner working in Kipling providing primary health care. We have a new position in Kipling called an advanced authorized practice nurse. She sees primary health patients care that a doctor would [have] otherwise seen. She sees as many as 10 people a day.”

“There are three providers in Kipling seeing patients right now. There’s no one else in southern Saskatchewan that has this advanced authorized practice nurse.”