The Department of Health and Wellness and Health PEI are acting to help Islanders who will be left without a family physician after the eventual closure of the Phoenix Medical Practice in Charlottetown.
“We met extensively with Dr. Robbie Coull to develop an alternative to his request for additional funding for his practice,” said Keith Dewar, CEO of Health PEI. “After thoroughly considering all the potential impacts of his proposal, it was determined that it was not financially viable and would not be in the best interests of the province or of Islanders in the long run.”
“Our primary concern now is supporting Islanders whose access to primary health care will be most directly affected by this announcement,” said Minister Bertram. “Recruitment for physician vacancies is ongoing through our Recruitment and Retention Secretariat and we will begin the process of filling this vacancy immediately.”
All former Phoenix Medical Practice patients will automatically be added to the Health PEI patient registry to be matched up with family physicians. For non-urgent care, walk-in clinics remain the best option for Islanders while they are temporarily without a family physician. For emergency situations, Islanders should continue to visit their nearest emergency department.
A listing of walk-in clinics throughout the province is available at www.healthpei.ca/walkinclinics.
Health PEI will work quickly in the coming weeks and months to place as many patients from the patient registry with family physicians as our province’s current physician complement will allow. Medical directors are now in place throughout the province to help allocate physician resources in each community, and more collaborative processes being put in place at medical facilities will help to better manage physicians’ time.
Contrary to what was stated publically by Dr. Coull, the province did not provide him with $500,000 for a pilot project for his practice. Dr. Coull is paid based on negotiations between the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island and government as are all physicians practicing on the Island.