ROLE OF THE GENERAL-PRACTITIONER IN THE DELIVERY OF SURGICAL AND ANESTHESIA SERVICES IN RURAL WESTERN CANADA

Objective: To determine the present role of general practitioners (GPs ) in the delivery of surgical and anesthesia services in rural western Canada. Design: Survey by mailed questionnaire in November 1993, with telephone follow-up of nonresponders. Setting: Rural British Columbia , Alberta, the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. Particip ants: Administrators of 148 rural hospitals; of the 121 who completed it 101 represented hospitals that met the inclusion criteria (fewer th an 51 beds and serving a population of 15 000 or less). Outcome measur es: Hospital characteristics, type of practitioners providing surgical and anesthesia services, length and location of GPs' surgical and ane sthesia training, types of surgical procedures performed by GPs; and o pinions of administrators regarding the delivery of surgical services in their community. Results: Surgical services were provided by 55 (55 %) of the 101 hospitals, at 45 (80%) they were provided by GPs, and at 33 (59%) they were provided by GPs with limited additional surgical t raining. Fifteen (27%) of the 56 hospitals were said to rely solely on GPs with limited surgical training for surgical services. At 45 (80%) of the 56 hospitals anesthesia services were provided by CPs, all of whom had limited additional training in anesthesia, 36 (64%) were said to rely solely on GPs for anesthesia services. Just over three quarte rs (76% [74/98]) of the administrators felt that their community's sur gical needs were well met. Conclusion: GPs with limited specialty trai ning continue to play a role in providing surgical and anesthesia serv ices in rural western Canada. This has implications for postgraduate t raining programs in Canada.