'Passive approach' to retention letting doctors slip away on P.E.I., say Greens

P.E.I.'s Official Opposition is accusing government of taking a "passive approach" when it comes to the retention of health-care professionals, saying the lack of a strategy is leading to stress and burnout and forcing doctors and nurses out of communities and in some cases to leave the province entirely.

P.E.I. has a shortage of doctors and the patient registry of those waiting for a family doctor has climbed steadily to nearly 16,000 Islanders.

"We can do all we can to recruit doctors, but if we're not putting the effort into keeping them here, making sure they are supported and that they are able to stay on the Island practising, then we're really just pedalling a bike as hard as we can, even though the chain has fallen off," said Green Party health critic Trish Altass.

Altass referenced a number of recent issues, including a doctor who had been providing service in Wellington one half day per week, but stopped because of a lack of a space to work from. That doctor's entire practice is now based out of Summerside.

She also pointed to two psychiatrists who recently left the psychiatric unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. Government has said one of the two cited workload as a concern.

Province says it's working on it

"We need to be checking in with our doctors regularly to make sure that we're supporting them," Altass said. "So that before issues get to the point where they're choosing to leave, we're able to address them and maintain their practices here in Prince Edward Island."

In a media release Thursday, the Greens accused the PC government of continuing to follow the "failed policies and initiatives" of the previous Liberal government when it comes to health-care retention.

Altass called on the province to come up with a comprehensive plan for the retention of health-care workers, and warns if doctors are not properly supported, this "is a pattern I expect will continue if we don't take it more seriously."

P.E.I.'s Minister of Health and Wellness James Aylward acknowledged there is room for improvement in health-care worker retention, and said it's something his department is already working on with the Medical Society of P.E.I.

"We're looking at some of the pressures that in particular physicians are facing now with regards to burnout and the workload and things like that," said Aylward.

Aylward said just this week he met with a group of five doctors from the Charlottetown area who had concerns. Aylward said the doctors were receptive to one solution government has put forward — to move physicians to a "collaborative hub" model that would see multiple physicians work together in collaboration with other health-care professionals like nurse practitioners or RNs.

Orientation program

Recruitment and retention of health-care professionals was a frequent topic of debate during the fall 2019 sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature.

During the sitting, Aylward tabled a five-page document outlining approaches and efforts undertaken by government. According to the document, government has developed an orientation program for new health-care recruits to check on how they're adjusting to their new roles and to seek suggestions for improvements.

The document also includes a new slogan developed for P.E.I.'s recruitment and retention secretariat.

That slogan, Some See a Postcard, You'll See a Launchpad was criticized by Liberal MLA Robert Henderson during the sitting, who questioned whether it would actually help attract doctors to Island communities.

More P.E.I. news