Coastal Labrador hospital with only virtual doctor has father worried for his son's life

A hospital along Labrador's southern coast now only has access to a virtual doctor, and it has residents worried about possible fatal consequences as they wait for a permanent doctor to be hired.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said that effective immediately on Feb. 14, on-site emergency and primary-care coverage would be available through virtual services at the Labrador South Health Centre in Forteau.

Dorman Fowler told CBC his son, Silone Fowler, is quadriplegic and living in L'anse au Loup. He says his son needs to see a doctor every few weeks and it can turn urgent whenever a tube that drains his bladder gets blocked.

"We need something done and we need something done now — not next year," Fowler told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

He said his son regularly requires life-saving care at the hospital and an emergency can happen with very little notice.

"When [the tube] blocks, we don't have time for medevac. We don't have time for basically anything. Only just get directly to the hospital in Forteau and the tube needs to be changed right away," said Fowler.

"If not, he can go into an anomic attack it's called, where his blood pressure goes through the roof, sky high. And it could cause a heart attack, stroke or even death."

Fowler says nurses can't perform that kind of work, and says he's scared something is going to happen.

"We need this addressed right now," said Fowler.

Labrador-Grenfell Zone vice-president and acting chief operating officer Joanne Pelley said when people go to the hospital there's on-site staff who do the assessment and consult with a virtual physician. 

The virtual doctor works with the health-care providers on the ground. If needed, a patient could also be transferred to another facility, said Pelley. If the weather made it impossible to transfer a patient, she said they would then stay on location.

"They would be cared for by the staff at that facility, which is often a registered nurse or a regional registered nurse, and they would have that virtual support until it was safe access or transport," said Pelley.

Vice-president of medical services Dr. Gena Budgen says the health authority has been "quite successful" with recruiting physicians. She said around 200 doctors have been recruited since the province's four health authorities amalgamated in April 2023.

"Our recruitment and our retention program is quite strong and we are quite proud of the strides that we've made. Newfoundland and Labrador is a very attractive place to work for physicians and we have a lot to offer in this beautiful province," said Budgen.