P.E.I. health-care system may not be able to support medical school, say doctors

The Medical Society of P.E.I. is expressing concern about the health-care system's ability to support a medical school, and welcoming a study into what those needs will be.

Plans for the medical school at UPEI were announced in 2021, with the first group of students scheduled to start classes in the fall of 2024.

Dr. Krista Cassell, president of the Medical Society of P.E.I., said plans need to be made before then for how to integrate those students into the local health-care system for their training.

"We need docs to teach, we need space for students to learn, we need staff to support them," said Cassell.

"We need to know can we support both, our patients, their needs, plus our teaching responsibilities in this new medical school, and deliver on both with high quality. We fear that we may not be able to in our current situation."

Getting work done already difficult

A medical school is a long-term solution to the doctor shortage, said Cassell.

The students beginning their studies in 2024 won't be ready to set up their own practices until some time in the 2030s.

In the meantime, the doctors currently working on P.E.I. will have to find time to assist in the training of the medical school's students.

"Our medical system is struggling a little," said Cassell.

"We're struggling with resources, we're struggling with space, infrastructure needs. Physicians currently feel that it's a bit difficult to do the job that we have to do now."

P.E.I.'s population has been growing at a record pace. Meanwhile, information provided by the province in July show the number of doctors on the Island was actually falling.

The number of Islanders on the patient registry has grown from about 24,000 in July to 27,000.

Building a plan

To answer questions about exactly how much support the health-care system will be required to provide to students, and what will need to be done to prepare, the university and Health P.E.I. are commissioning a study by an independent consultant.

"We're looking for a consultancy to answer not only what capacity do we have today but what capacity will we need tomorrow. What investments will be required?" said Paul Young, chief operating officer at UPEI's faculty of medicine at UPEI.

"Once we know what the needs are then we can build a plan around getting there."

Given the immediate needs in health care, and the stress a medical school will add, the province needs to consider more immediate solutions, said Cassell.

One thing the province could do, she said, is expand its residency program, the training the doctors take after graduating from medical school to complete their education.

"The current family medicine residency program on P.E.I. has actually been a proven recruitment strategy already," said Cassell.

"Each year we train five doctors and we notice that four of them stay within the province."

The society would like to see this program expanded as quickly as possible, she said.

The tender for the study into support requirements for the medical school closes Feb. 27, and is expected to take four to six months to complete.