New deal for hospital staff doctors averts resignations

B.C.'s hospital staff doctors have reached a tentative contract agreement with the provincial government, avertinga threatenedwithdrawal of services.

The 191 hospitalists hadwarned theywould wind down their practices unless they got a new deal.

They had been demanding $135 an hour, while the Health Ministry had offered them $111 an hour.

Now, they've agreed to a base salary of $112 an hour, with incentives boosting that to more than $122 an hour.

Under the one-year deal announced Thursday, they will also receive the same raises as other doctors in the province.

The government said it will work with hospitalists to develop a long-term plan for their wages and working conditions.

Hospitalists take care of hospital patients who don't have their own doctor and step in for general practitioners who don't have hospital privileges.