NPs and RNs to offer primary care in wake of P.E.I. family doctor’s departure

Alberton, P.E.I. | When it comes to Health PEI’s patient registry, the numbers do not speak for themselves. Last week the health authority acknowledged that the patients of a family physician who is leaving her practice here later this month have been asked not to add their name to the list of those looking for a general practitioner.There is no need to do this, Dr. Andre Celliers, chief of family and community medicine with Health P.E.I., told the Medical Post. Dr. Filza Naveed’s patients will continue to have access to primary care services through the use of a nurse practitioner, registered nurse, LPN and locums, he noted. As a result, the roughly 1,360 patients who will soon find themselves without a family doctor do not have to add their name to the registry.Islanders can expect greater reliance on nurse practitioners in their health system. “Nurse practitioners are an important part of our primary care system,” said Dr. Celliers adding that, “We continue to explore opportunities to integrate more nurse practitioners into collaborative family physician practices so they can take on more patients together.”Efforts to find a permanent replacement for Dr. Naveed, who began her medical practice in western P.E.I. in late 2015, are already under way, said Dr. Celliers. “We are optimistic that our recruitment efforts will be successful.” P.E.I. Health Minister Robert HendersonAccording to Health Minister Robert Henderson when a new physician arrives they will take over the family physician’s practice and have a full patient load. However, if no family doctor is recruited within six months, Dr. Naveed’s former patients will have to add their name to the list of more than 400 patients from the area currently on the provincial registry.The health minister also told reporters that the health department is working in tandem with the Medical Society of PEI to develop a recruitment plan focused on the use of retiring physicians. (The medical society did not respond to requests from the Medical Post for an interview.) In addition, he noted, there is greater emphasis being placed on nurse practitioners particularly to help new doctors take over large caseloads.At present, there are approximately 6,900 Islanders on the provincial registry, down from more than 10,000 last fall. The reduction is, in large part, the result of a concentrated attempt—including reaching out directly to people on the list—by family doctors, nurse practitioners and others to reduce the number of people without access to primary care. The numbers are expected to drop further. “We have a plan in place to match an additional 3,000 to 3,500 Islanders from the patient registry with a primary care provider already practicing on P.E.I. over the next 12 months,” Dr. Celliers said.Currently, he noted, 96% of Islanders have a family doctor compared with 84.5% nationally.

NPs and RNs to offer primary care in wake of P.E.I. family doctor’s departure

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