Locums not only spell relief for rural physicians who step in when the regular physician is absent. In the northern community of High Level, locums have become a permanant fixture, ensuring residents have continued access to a complete range of healthcare services.
According to Dr. Heinrich Brussow, High Level uses a blend of five permanent doctors, and alternating groups of locums, two doctors who share a post, to meet the round-the-clock needs of the community.
“So [locums] come in for two months and go out for two months, and while they’re here, they want to do the emergency work, the hard work, night work, and then they’re gone for two months, they rest.”
“It suits us very well because we don’t have to do all that night work, and we concentrate on chronic disease management, which is another passion of mine, so I like the elderly, I like geriatric medicine.”
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