Two new doctors fill Kings County complement

Supporting Island families -

The recruitment of two new family physicians to Kings County marks the first time in nearly a decade that the region’s physician complement has been full.

Dr. Penny Thomson started this week at the Montague Health Centre, and Dr. Craig Malone will begin his new role this July in Souris after completing his final residency rotation. Health PEI staff will contact residents of Kings County on the Provincial Patient Registry – as well as former patients of Drs. David Hambly and Adriana Verdejo – to assign them to the new full-time physicians in the coming months.

“We want to welcome Dr. Thomson to our health care team in Montague and we look forward to Dr. Malone joining our Kings County complement in the near future,” Health and Wellness Minister Robert Mitchell said. “The addition of these two new physicians means we will have a complete roster of family physician in Kings County, and we will be able to support better health outcomes, ensure better access to patient care, and help stabilize hospital services.

"Our recruitment and retention team works diligently to attract physicians to both rural and urban communities, where they will stay to build their careers and provide quality care to area residents.”

Dr. Thomson, a graduate of the PEI Family Medicine Residency Program, will accept patients from Southern Kings into her practice who do not have a primary care provider. This includes the 742 individuals currently on the Provincial Patient Registry, as well as former patients of Dr. Hambly who are without a primary care provider. In addition to her family practice, Dr. Thomson will also be working in the emergency department at Kings County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Malone will join the team of primary care providers at the Eastern Kings Health Centre. He will take on patients from Eastern Kings, including the 138 individuals currently on the Provincial Patient Registry and former patients of Dr. Verdejo. In addition to his family practice, Dr. Malone will also provide in-patient care at Souris Hospital.

Souris residents will also have enhanced access to primary care services when Dr. Nicole Fancy begins working one day per week at the Eastern Kings Health Centre, in addition to maintaining her family practice in Montague. She will also participate in the on-call rotation at Souris Hospital to further support the physicians in the community.

“Having a full complement of physicians in Kings County will bring much-needed stability to both primary and emergency health care services to the region,” said Dr. André Celliers, family physician and chief of family and community medicine. “This marks the first time that we have been able to fill all family physician positions in Kings County, enabling us to ensure that everyone who wants a primary care provider gets one. We are fortunate to have such skilled physicians as part of our team who are committed to providing the best care to their patients and being active members of their communities.”

Islanders wanting a primary care provider are encouraged to contact the Provincial Patient Registry by calling toll-free 1-855-563-2101 or visiting www.healthpei.ca/patientregistry.

Media contact:
Amanda Hamel
ajhamel@gov.pe.ca