Harbourside Health Centre patients being transferred to new providers or temporarily provided free access to virtual service

Health PEI is currently experiencing a shortage of physicians and nurse practitioners at the Harbourside Health Centre (HHC) and is working to recruit a full collaborative care team. As a result, patients are being reassigned to new providers in the area to maintain service, while approximately 700 will temporarily be without an in-person provider over the next one to four months.

“For the past two years, staff at the Harbourside Health Centre Patient Medical Home have provided care to more than 4,500 patients, despite the departure of three physicians and ongoing recruitment challenges,” said Andrew MacDougall, Executive Director of Community Health and Seniors Care with Health PEI “The small team at Harbourside has been going above and beyond to support the healthcare needs of the centre. But our staff can’t continue at that pace, it’s not sustainable, and we need to support them.”

The majority of the affected patients of Harbourside Health Centre have been or will assigned to a new provider over the next one to four months, as new healthcare providers (doctors and nurse practitioners) begin to take on patients. Providers will be located at HHC or in nearby communities, such as Kensington. Those reassigned patients will receive a separate letter notifying them of the changes and where they can book appointments.

While most patients will be accommodated immediately, a total of approximately 700 patients will not have an in-person healthcare provider right away, as they are gradually assigned to new health care providers. In the meantime, these patient will have access to virtual care through the Health PEI Virtual Care program, beginning Oct. 16. These patients do not need to go on the patient registry for this service. Affected patients will be contacted directly by letter to inform them of their options and how to access services.

By February 2024, all patients are expected to be assigned to a provider and attached to primary care.

Health PEI recognizes these changes are difficult for patients and is committed to recruiting healthcare providers in East Prince County to work in collaborative, team-based care.

Media contact:
Everton McLean
Health PEI
emclean@gov.pe.ca