Just a month after three Charlottetown doctors announced they were leaving their practices — leaving another 5,000 Islanders without a family doctor — another has confirmed that he, too, has finished.
Dr. Steve Scales’ patients will now join more than 24,000 Islanders already on the PEI Patient Registry, the province’s waiting list for a family doctor.
In a letter sent to his patients last week, Scales said that “after months of consideration, I have made the difficult decision to leave my family practice effective July 19, 2022. … There is currently no permanent physician or nurse practitioner to take over your care .”
CBC was unable to reach Scales for comment on why he is leaving his practice.
Dr. Steve Scales operated his practice out of Sherwood Family Medical Center in Charlottetown. (Steve Bruce/CBC)
Sasha Clow, one of Scales’ now former patients, received the letter on Friday. She was left without a family doctor for the first time in her life.
“I felt awkward because I have a baby,” Clough said. “Getting to our family doctor was hard enough. Now we will have to go to a clinic and we will have to sit in a clinic for two hours before the clinic even opens just to get a prescription for our son who is eight months old. So you’ve been sitting in the waiting room longer than I think you should be sitting in a waiting room.”
More doctors are likely to leave
In a statement to CBC Health, PEI said Islanders can expect more doctors to follow suit.
“Health PEI is aware of more physicians who have discussed downsizing or leaving their practices. It is too early to confirm this as these doctors have not yet confirmed any plans. Health PEI is experiencing the same physician retention issues as the rest of Canada after many years of heavy workloads for family physicians and two years of pandemic stress.”
Sasha Clow, without a family doctor for the first time in her life, worries most about how she will access care for her eight-month-old son. (Steve Bruce/CBC)
While news of the other three doctors leaving their practices broke a month ago, some of their patients are just now receiving official letters from Health PEI confirming their departures and offering advice on where to go for various medical needs.
“Letters to patients from doctors leaving practices were delayed for several reasons, including the lack of available addresses for all individuals, printing and mailing. Most letters have already been mailed,” the agency said in a statement. “Health PEI apologizes for the delays.”
Health PEI added that access to free virtual care will be provided to all patients who have recently lost their family doctor.
“Updates on the process of adding people to Maple, how records will be managed and information about the future of these practices will be provided … in the coming days.”
Clow believes the province needs to act quickly.
“I feel the government needs to step up and address the issues,” she said.
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