Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover advised today that eight physician positions were filled recently in the Charlottetown and Summerside areas.
Three full-time physicians have joined the QEH Emergency Room staff, four physicians assumed family practices in the Charlottetown area, and one in Summerside.
"There are two more family physicians practising in the province now than there were a year ago. The success of several recruitment initiatives responds in part to recommendations put forward to government last year by the Citizens Coalition for Access to Health Care," said the minister.
She acknowledged the assistance of the many partners involved in leading the recruitment of the physicians including individual physicians, The Medical Society of P.E.I., the Department of Health and Social Services, and the Queens and East Prince Health regions.
Drs. Gordon Beck, Brad Brandon, and James Thompson have accepted full-time positions at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Emergency Room. They join Dr. Chris Lantz and Dr. Marc Paris of Charlottetown to maintain the department's full complement of five full-time physicians. Several other physicians will also be working in the Emergency Department on a rotation basis.
Minister Dover advised that the full Emergency Room physician complement will ensure stability in emergency services, as well as reduce the on-call requirements for other family physicians who are now required to fill shifts in the emergency department in addition to their regular practices.
Family physician Dr. Janet Baker, a native of Sherwood replaced Dr. Beck at the Cornwall Medical Centre last month.
Dr. Theodore Bachynsky of Victoria, British Columbia replaced Dr. Brad Brandon at the Parkdale Medical Clinic earlier this month.
Dr. Shelly Molyneaux will assume Dr. Don Ling's family practice at The Polyclinic effective September 1, 1998.
Dr. Grant Matheson replaced Dr. Kevin Coady at the Parkdale Medical Clinic who left his practice in July. Efforts are continuing to find a permanent successor for his Montague family practice which will be supported by locum physicians for the present.
Dr. Stephen O'Neill has recently begun family practice at the Summerside Medical Clinic.
"Maintaining full physician coverage continues to be a major challenge everywhere, but with the concerted effort of our many partners, we have had very positive results in this province," said the minister.
"I'd also like to acknowledge the assistance of several locum physicians from P.E.I. and the Maritimes who have been providing temporary coverage during the summer and recent months, including Dr. Paul Doucette, Dr. Ron MacEachern, Dr. Joanne McGinn, Dr. Mike Molyneaux, and Dr. Mark Richards."
The minister indicated that several positive inquiries have been received for speciality positions, and she hopes that additional announcements of new Island speciality physicians can be made soon.
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Physician Background Information
Emergency Room Physicians
Dr. Gordon Beck replaced Dr. Ralph Kennedy who retired in July. Dr. Beck is a resident of Charlottetown. He practised in Cornwall for the past several years.
Dr. James Thompson will replace Dr. James Stempien who left the province for personal reasons. Dr. Thompson is now practising in Sundre, Alberta. He received his medical degree, as well as his certification in emergency medicine from the University of Calgary. He is married with two children and will begin practice in Prince Edward Island September 1, 1998.
Dr. Brad Brandon joined the QEH Emergency staff full-time August 15, 1998, and is currently Chief of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Brandon graduated from the University of British Columbia. A resident of Charlottetown, he practised at the Charlottetown and Parkdale Medical Clinics since 1984.
Physicians
Replacing Dr. Beck at the Cornwall Medical Centre is Dr. Janet Baker. A native of Sherwood, P.E.I., Dr. Baker received her medical degree from Dalhousie University in 1995. She began practice in Cornwall in July, 1998.
Dr. Theodore Bachynsky of Victoria, British Columbia replaced Dr. Brad Brandon at the Parkdale Medical Clinic earlier this month. A graduate of Dalhousie University in 1992, Dr. Bachynsky has recently provided locum coverage in emergency medicine at several hospitals in B.C. and the Maritime provinces. He is married with one child.
Dr. Shelly Molyneaux will assume Dr. Don Ling's family practice at The Polyclinic effective September 1, 1998. A native of North River, P.E.I., Dr. Molyneaux received her medical degree from Dalhousie in 1996 and her certification in Family Practice from the University of Western Ontario in 1998.
Dr. Grant Matheson replaced Dr. Kevin Coady who left his practice recently. Dr. Matheson has been practising at the Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague since 1992 when he graduated from Dalhousie. He began practice at the Parkdale Medical Clinic August 15, 1998.
Dr. Stephen O'Neill has recently begun family practice at the Summerside Medical Clinic. He has had extensive post graduate training through Dalhousie University.