N.B. mayor working on next steps as community's longtime doctor retires

The mayor of a small New Brunswick community is trying to recruit a new family doctor after the retirement of a longtime GP in the area.

Arcadia, with a population of about 3,700, was part of the amalgamation that brought together Gagetown, Cambridge-Narrows, Hampstead, Upper Gagetown, Cambridge and Waterborough.

Mayor Derek Pleadwell said there's another doctor in the Cambridge-Narrows area, but that's not enough to cover the entire region.

"From my council's perspective, we want to take the right steps in terms of trying to be in the right place to attract professionals to this community," Pleadwell said.

Dr. Greg Haines worked in Gagetown for 30 years and has been a physician for 42.

Haines said he had about 1,500 patients, with between 1,200 and 1,300 who were active and being dealt with on a regular basis.

He said he has been working to find doctors for some of his patients, while also informing them of their options — not an easy task.

"I've sent a letter around to people outlining what alternative forms of care are through the New Brunswick Health Link and MyHealthNB and these sorts of things," said Haines.

"Certain people with a lot of medical problems, I'm trying to farm them out selectively to a few other family physicians who have the capacity, perhaps, to look after them, but it's impossible to farm the entire practice out."

Haines said the medical profession is a demanding one. On top of the years of education, information is quickly evolving and doctors need to continue to update their knowledge base. 

Pleadwell said he has been in talks with the Department of Health and the regional service commission to talk about next steps in terms of recruitment. 

He said the biggest challenge is finding people but he's optimistic after hearing the health minister and the premier talk about collaborative care in the province and looking at health care differently in order to increase access to medical professionals.

"The whole game of health care has changed, and I'm happy to hear our province and our elected officials looking at that and doctors being open towards that, because that's what we need to hear," said Pleadwell.

Haines agrees that the health-care landscape is changing. He said he thinks newer physicians are continuing to choose collaborative forms of care.

Ahead of the election, Premier Susan Holt made a pledge to open at least 30 collaborative care clinics in the province before 2028.

Haines believes that's the way to go. As well, he said technology is also changing the game with virtual care — and perhaps applications of artificial intelligence in the future — providing more options for health-care access. 

His advice to new practitioners looking to work in the province would be to maintain a good balance between work and family and friends.