PC MLA takes government to task over walk-in access in eastern P.E.I.

Backbench PC MLA Sidney MacEwen took his government's health minister to task Tuesday over a lack of access to walk-in clinics in eastern P.E.I., while suggesting the province follow Nova Scotia's lead with a pilot program to use pharmacists as part of a primary care team.

MacEwen noted the only walk-in clinic that operates east of Stratford — an area encompassing the entirety of Kings County and a portion of Queens — is in Morell, where a nurse practitioner operates a clinic that runs once a week for three hours every Wednesday morning.

Outside those hours, residents who need care who don't have a family care provider have to go to the emergency room in Montague or head to walk-in clinics in Stratford or Charlottetown.

"We know about the messaging and how important it is to not tie up the Montague ER with non-emergency cases," MacEwen noted during question period. 

"As always, in eastern P.E.I., we're expected to drive to Charlottetown to walk-in clinics that are already full by the time we get there.

This government has done a good job of recruiting doctors, but we can't keep up,​​​​​​.— PC MLA Sidney MacEwen

"Do you feel that there's adequate walk-in clinic time east of Stratford?" he asked Health Minister Ernie Hudson.

Hudson provided a short recollection about the time he went to Morell to speak with MacEwen and others about the problem, then diverged into talking about the latest COVID flare-up before finally addressing MacEwen's question.

"I would have to agree with the member that, yes, we have to do better, absolutely, and to work with the community and work with the member on this."

"The answer, we know, is no," came the retort from MacEwen, the rest of his response drowned out by the thumping of desks by members of all three parties.

Pitch to include pharmacists

MacEwen has been campaigning for better walk-in access for Morell since 2007, eight years before he was first elected to represent the district. 

His pitch Tuesday was for a new model of care being piloted in Nova Scotia.

That model involves pharmacists working with nurse practitioners to provide primary care.

Two such clinics are being operated in Nova Scotia by Lawtons Drugs.

P.E.I. is moving forward with a different model of collaborative care, with government promising to have five medical homes operational by the end of March 2022.

Those medical homes are supposed to include multiple care providers working together including doctors, nurse practitioners, counsellors, dietitians and social workers.

Through the use of medical homes, the province has said it hopes to cut the number of people on the waiting list for a primary care provider in half within two years.

As of Tuesday there were 22,585 people on the province's patient registry — about one in seven Island residents. Of the people on the registry, 401 have a primary care provider and are requesting a new one.

Hudson refused to provide a definitive response to MacEwen's proposal — but said he's "more than willing to look at any initiatives that will benefit Islanders" if it can fit in with the province's plan for medical homes and neighbourhoods.

In an interview after question period, MacEwen gave government credit for hiring more doctors — but noted the number of Islanders waiting for a family care provider isn't shrinking.

"This government has done a good job of recruiting doctors, but we can't keep up," he said. "We're not getting enough to get the patient registry down because we're losing doctors that are retiring."