People in the Interlake town of Arborg say they've lost confidence in their regional health authority after learning plans to bring two foreign-trained doctors to the community have fallen through.

At a meeting last month, officials with the Interlake Regional Health Authority told Arborg residents that more family physicians were on the way to ease the community's doctor shortage. Two foreign doctors taking exams to practise in Manitoba were expected to move to Arborg this spring, they said.




However, one of the doctors failed the exam. The other had already signed a contract to practise in nearby Eriksdale.

Steve Lupky, chair of a community committee trying to recruit doctors to the community, says people were shocked to learn the RHA had made a commitment it couldn't keep.

"For the RHA not to know that they had even signed a job offer for another facility, and had been communicating to us that these doctors were going to be coming to Arborg – you just have to question how that could even happen," he said.

"[We want] some explanation about why all this information was provided to our residents when it was that inaccurate."

Lupky says Arborg needs a minimum of four doctors to run the local hospital and personal care home, and see other patients. Currently, the community of 1,000 has only one doctor.

He says the shortage is forcing many people to drive 60 kilometres to Teulon or more than 100 kilometres to Winnipeg for basic medical care.

No intention to mislead: IRHA

Lorne Charbonneau, a vice president with the Interlake Regional Health Authority, says officials never intended to mislead the public.

"We have absolutely nothing to gain from not putting forward factual information to the community, and it's certainly what we portray," he told CBC News.

"I should point out though that the community has asked for guarantees, and that's very difficult for us to do. We're dealing with professionals who have a high degree of marketability in the workplace, and to some degree, will self-select where they work."

Charbonneau says there was miscommunication among executives at the health authority. He was out of the country when the meeting was held in Arborg, he said, and those who did attend were not aware that one doctor had already made a commitment to Eriksdale.