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Doctor shortage making it more difficult for San Diegans to get care

A local doctor says the pandemic made the ongoing doctor shortage much worse by burning out healthcare workers and causing some to leave the industry.

SAN DIEGO — California's ongoing doctor shortage is making it more difficult for San Diegans to get a doctors appointment.

Tonan Rivera went to the ER more than two weeks ago. He was injured at work when a piece of construction equipment fell on him.

"It just caught the back of my leg and ripped open the side of the calf. Gouged all the way down to the ankle bone. I got 17 stitches and a fractured ankle," he said. 

Weeks later, he's still waiting to see a specialist. 

"The primary doctor is kind of jumping through hoops to try to find an orthopedic surgeon," he said.

He's frustrated and worries that prolonging his care will hurt the healing process.

"You feel neglected, and this is a common theme," he said. "You work hard, pay your bills, have health insurance, doing what you're supposed to and then get left behind."

Dr. David Bazzo, the interim chair of family medicine at UC San Diego, wasn't surprised when he heard about Rivera's experience. 

He said California has had a doctor shortage for years and the pandemic made it much worse. It burned out many healthcare workers and caused them to leave the industry.

"It makes me feel terrible. I'm feeling that with my own patients. My availability is much farther out than it ever has been," he said.

He fears the shortage will only get worse as the population increases and aging baby Boomers start having more health needs. 

Reports show the state will be 4,200 doctors short by 2030.

"Our workforce in other words us being able to train doctors to go into medicine here," he said. "We are limited in the number of residency spots for training."

He believes increasing the residency spots in the state would improve the doctor shortage.

"What's important to note is that a lot of doctors will stay in the area they train in so if we have more training posts in California more doctors would stay here," he said.

Dr. Bazzo said many people are going straight to the ER or urgent care because they're unable to get in with their doctor soon enough.

WATCH RELATED: San Diego County Sheriff's Dept. implements mandatory overtime to address staffing shortages (June 2022)

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