In early 2014 around 470 residents from the Hunter River, Crapaud, Borden-Carleton, Kinkora, Albany and Victoria areas were identified as having no primary care provider.
Dr. Visser and the South Shore Pharmacy put forward a proposal to hire a Nurse-Practitioner to work with Dr. Visser three days per week to accept all these patients into his practice - at a cost of $40,000.
The Director of Primary Care estimated that the cost of these 470 patients accessing walk-in clinics and emergency departments because they have no family doctor is around $50,000.
This means the proposal would save the government $10,000 - but it was turned down by Treasury Board!
It is now two years later.
How many of these people have been placed with a family physician?
What is the government's plan to provide a primary care provider for these 470 residents and what is the time-line?
In most cases the reason residents do not have a physician is because gov't does not prioritize paying for one for them.
Case in point, this spring five PEI residents are going to finish their residency program here and it is my understanding that all five want jobs here and gov't has told them there are no positions available.
Why won't our government take action?