Due to a reduction in physician coverage at the QEH Emergency Department, it is anticipated that, as of Christmas weekend, there will be longer wait times for non urgent cases until two full-time physicians are found.
Dr. Richard Wedge, Director of Medical Services for the Department of Health, said, “We have been successful in recruiting a new physician for the Department. However, there is a need for an additional two physicians to bring the Department back to full complement. Two physicians are leaving in December to work out of province and another physician within the department is unable to work full time due to an ongoing family health crisis.”
The QEH Emergency Department will be going from 38 to 30 hours physician coverage daily starting over the Christmas weekend. There will be three 10 hour shifts with one physician working most times of the day instead of the usual two physicians over the busiest times.
Pat Lee, Executive Director for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, added, “It is difficult to predict the amount of wait time for non-urgent arrivals to the Emergency Department. It depends on client demand which can be unpredictably high or low. We want to assure the public that urgent cases will be seen immediately while non-urgent patients may have to wait longer depending on the situation.”
Those patients who require immediate or urgent medical attention should go to their local Emergency Department. These cases will be dealt with on a priority triage basis.
An aggressive recruitment campaign is underway to attract new physicians to the QEH Emergency Department.
“We are meeting with universities which offer emergency medical programs to recruit to the QEH ED. We are also speaking with numerous individual ED physicians to provide locum coverage and are working to recruit physicians who are in their final stages of study and who are looking at PEI as an option for practice,” added Dr. Wedge.
Those patients who arrive at the QEH Emergency Department are encouraged to be understanding during this challenging period. Physicians and staff are working to provide the best possible service given the available physician staffing.
The public is encouraged to utilize family physicians during business hours for non-urgent situations. If possible, prescriptions should be filled by family physicians in advance of the holidays to avoid wait time in the Emergency Department.
If a family physician is not an option, those needing non-urgent medical attention should go to local evening or weekend clinics. However, those requiring medical attention and do not have other immediate options should go to their local Emergency Department.