3 more doctors leaving practices as P.E.I. patient registry swells
At the very least three physicians in Charlottetown are leaving their practices within the subsequent few weeks, leaving greater than 5,000 individuals within the metropolis with no household physician.
It is unclear but what is going to occur to all of the sufferers of Dr. Kris Saunders, Dr. Ray Cooke and Dr. Jocelyn Peterson, who all gave discover they’re packing up their stethoscopes.
However Well being P.E.I. mentioned there isn’t any doubt it’s going to add to the affected person registry record that’s already about 23,000 names lengthy.
“It is troublesome,” mentioned chief medical officer Dr. Katherine McNally.
“It is onerous to be a affected person who would not have entry to main care, whether or not that is a doctor or nurse practitioner. All of these sufferers shall be receiving info from their household doctor.”
Saunders posted a letter saying after 15 years, he is leaving his observe July 1. He did not say why he is leaving, or the place he is going, and Well being P.E.I. wouldn’t present particulars. In an interview with CBC Information: Compass in 2019, Saunders, then president of the Medical Society of P.E.I., warned of an impending exodus of physicians.
Cooke posted a letter at his clinic saying in July, he is retiring from his observe and transferring right into a job with Veterans Affairs Canada.
Peterson is leaving June 24 and is not taking any new appointments. An workplace voice message says a short lived alternative has been discovered for the summer season months.
Stroll-in clinics and digital care by Maple are choices for individuals with no household physician.
‘Nationwide disaster’
Some providers, comparable to most cancers screening, will be accessed with no referral from a household physician.
McNally mentioned it is not best, however not surprising.
“It is a nationwide disaster … There is a scarcity of household physicians and nurse practitioners, main care suppliers throughout the nation. So this isn’t distinctive to us and the way we offer care. And ensuring sufferers have entry is admittedly necessary.”
The province is engaged on recruiting and retaining docs, however Well being P.E.I. mentioned there aren’t any everlasting replacements for the departing docs but.
Because the province transitions to its new medical residence mannequin, the place household docs are simply a part of a much bigger workforce of specialised professionals that see sufferers, relying on the care they want, it is unlikely they are going to be changed in the identical means they as soon as would’ve been.
‘Influence is huge’
“It is not one-to-one,” McNally mentioned.
“Like a doctor will not depart and somebody comes precisely into that actual mannequin, as a result of we’re making an attempt to get individuals into groups. It is not simple to simply say, ‘This particular person’s leaving, somebody’s coming.’ As a result of we’re additionally altering to team-based care on the identical time.”
Dr. Laura O’Connor, a household doctor and Queens County medical director for main care, mentioned the timing of three docs leaving on the identical time is unlucky, however encourages Islanders to “sit tight.”
“The affect is huge. After they’re clustered time-wise collectively, it does look like a really huge change … By means of the course of the subsequent a number of months, there will be extra course.”
