Forty-two doctors in western Prince Edward Island have penned a letter outlining the ongoing failures to provide critical care in the province’s second-largest hospital.
The East Prince Medical Staff Association released the letter early Friday morning. It details what they call a critical situation at the Prince County Hospital (PCH) in Summerside.
Dr. Steve MacNeill, the elected spokesman for the group, says it’s not something they wanted to do but something they were compelled to do.
“Physicians at the hospital have never done this, as far as I can recall. I’ve been working for about 21 years at Prince County Hospital, I started in the old hospital actually, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this happening,” said MacNeill. “I think the public should realize how important we feel it is.”
Health PEI shut down the ICU at the PCH in May due to a lack of internal medicine doctors at the hospital; at the time a progressive care unit, the step down from intensive care, was put in to help cover the gap while the most serious cases were transferred to Charlottetown.
MacNeill said that solution isn’t working anymore.
“I don’t think the PCU is going to be able to be resurrected, from what I’m understanding,” he said. “It’s just, it was too much, and too complicated, and too overwhelming for the physicians involved.”
The City of Summerside issued a letter in support of the doctors Friday afternoon. Officials say service reductions at the hospital are putting strain on people living in the city and surrounding communities.
“You start wondering: do I go to the hospital? Should I go to the hospital? Where’s the best place to get care?” said Cory Snow, deputy mayor of Summerside. “We want people to be confident in the healthcare of Prince Edward Island. We want people to be confident in the Prince County Hospital, and to do that we need services restored.”
The Liberal Party of P.E.I. also issued a statement in support of the East Prince Medical Staff Association, criticizing the Conservative Party for allegedly “overlooking the gravity of the situation and doing nothing.”
“(The doctors’) plea for urgent action resonates deeply, highlighting the dire situation faced by both healthcare professionals and Islanders in need,” the statement reads.
The physicians’ letter ended by urging that critical care return to the Prince County Hospital within the next six months.
Health PEI did not make the interim CEO available for an interview on Friday, nor did the Department of Health and Wellness provide the minister for comment.
However Health PEI did issue a statement late on Friday acknowledging the situation and thanking the doctors for the letter.
“Put simply, we cannot continue to ask the existing staff to just do more. That is not sustainable and can only lead to more valued staff leaving,” said Corinne Rowswell, interim CEO for Health PEI. “There have been recent hires to medical staff at PCH and concerted efforts to bring in more staff members. But we need to do even more. Recruitment are retention are vital to securing the PCH into the future.
Rowswell said there is no plan to permanently reduce services at the PCH. There were no details for possible solutions or timeline for the restoration of the PCH ICU.
