3 new psychiatrists start work in P.E.I.

After months of struggling through a staffing shortage, the province has hired three new psychiatrists, CBC has learned.

All three started work this week. A fourth psychiatrist who works with children and adolescents is expected to arrive in the middle of next month, said P.E.I.'s chief of mental health and addictions, Dr. Heather Keizer.

"We're in a much better place. It's very exciting," she said.

We've been through a real dry period frankly from the fall till now, but now all the hard work is starting to come home and it's wonderful.— Dr. Heather Keizer

Keizer said the health system is now getting to a point where there are enough psychiatrists to function more efficiently. 

"One of the things that happens when you don't have enough physicians on the units is that we end up with being unable to do service to turn patients over as quickly because you need patients to be seen, to be able to put together plans, to be able to get them transitioned to the community."

The new doctors are all graduates from outside Canada and are under supervision — as required by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of P.E.I.

Geriatrics specialist

Supervision periods depend on each case, but are typically three to six months, Keizer said. 

"They're all solid candidates."

Keizer said one of the new psychiatrists,  Dr. Salabarria, is a graduate of Harvard and Yale who specializes in geriatrics, who is working at Hillsborough Hospital in both the geriatric and acute care units. 

He is also providing leadership in directing geriatric care across the province, she said. 

Another of the new psychiatrists, Dr. Almasri, is from the UK and has 10 years of experience, Keizer said. He is now providing support in the psychiatric unit at Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Before Christmas, Keizer herself was having to provide support at the QEH because there weren't enough psychiatrists. 

The third of the new psychiatrists is Dr. Mahesh Nachnani, who was recruited from England has also now started his supervised work in Summerside.

There had previously been a delay and the process of him arriving has been longer than was expected. 

She said there still have been gaps in the last few months in emergency room coverage, but not to the degree in the past.

Psychiatrists high in demand

Over the last year, Keizer has been working with the province's recruitment and retention secretariat to attract doctors to P.E.I.

She said recruiting for psychiatry is a challenge because it's a specialty that is in high demand across the country. 

"We've been through a real dry period frankly from the fall till now, but now all the hard work is starting to come home and it's wonderful," Keizer said. 

Keizer said she and health officials visited a number of medical schools this past fall and three senior psychiatry residents have confirmed they're going to do community electives on P.E.I.  

"They're all interested in relocating to P.E.I. So they're going to come work with us first and hopefully we'll be able to recruit them as well."

Challenges not over yet

While there have been new additions, more challenges are on the horizon as current physicians approach retirement. 

"Even though we're getting to a good number now, I also have to plan for some of my colleagues wanting to be able to phase out in the next two years, or three or four years," Keizer said. "So really we can never give up the fight to recruit."  

Keizer said the big goal is to provide more service in the community, not just in an institutional setting. She said timely help closer to home is a piece that's been missing because of short numbers.  

"If we can provide more service in the community, it can be preventive."

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