Another 3,400 P.E.I. patients lose primary care, with family doctor saying he is 'burnt out'

A Prince Edward Island family doctor who scaled back his 13-year-old practice earlier this month has now decided to close it up completely. 

Dr. Paul Corney said in a letter to his remaining 3,400 patients that he will be "winding down" his practice in Charlottetown before closing it on Sept. 15, 2023. 

"As of now, there is no physician or nurse practitioner in place to take over your care. Health P.E.I. is working hard to find solutions for this," he wrote. 

For the time being, he said, his patients will be able to sign up for free online care from Maple, the virtual health service the province offers to those without a primary care provider. 

"I have invested everything into this medical practice over the past 13 years, and I have tried every considerable route over the past year to avoid my departure," Corney wrote. "I attempted to procure NPs, other physicians, and even medical assistants, but there is no help available." 

Corney said patients should continue to make and keep scheduled appointments with the diabetic nurses, dieticians, prenatal nurse practitioner, and mental health therapists allied with his practice until Sept. 15. 

But he added that patients of those people "will be transferred to the appropriate Health P.E.I. equivalent services over the next three months." 

Corney said he himself would be using the next three months "to focus on those patients' cases I am already actively managing" and would not be accepting any new appointments. 

As of the last time it was updated on June 6, the province's patient registry held the names of 30,571 P.E.I. residents without a primary care provider. 

A government spokesperson told CBC News on Thursday that with Corney's departure, 12 doctors have stopped serving Islanders so far this year, and 12 others have either started work or signed on to start. These numbers include all types of physicians, not just family doctors. 

"However, we know one physician does not usually fully replace an existing physician due to the number of patients they take on," the spokesperson wrote. 

Corney's letter to his patients was frank about his reasons for departure. 

"Practising medicine was difficult before COVID-19, but now it is much worse. I know Health P.E.I. is doing their best, but they are working with limited resources (the largest deficit being human resources)," he wrote. "Unfortunately, many doctors, nurses, and medical support personnel have recently left health care, and my name will be part of that growing list.

"Despite managing close to 3,400 patients, I strove to be one of P.E.I.'s most accessible family physicians. This devotion comes with large physical and mental personal costs.