Prince County Hospital's intensive-care unit to reopen in August, administrator confirms

Prince County Hospital in Summerside is preparing to restore two crucial health services next month, reopening its intensive-care unit and resuming in-person oncologist appointments.

The eight-bed ICU has been closed since May 2023 due to a lack of specialized staff.

Since then, more serious intensive-care patients have been treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, 60 kilometres away.

"It's been a couple of years before we've been able to offer this specific level of critical-care services, and we're very much looking forward to the opportunity to do that again," Rob Philpott, Prince County Hospital's administrator, told CBC's Island Morning on Monday.

Meanwhile, cancer patients in western P.E.I. will once again be able to see an oncologist in person at Prince County Hospital as of Aug. 11.

Earlier this month, CBC News reported that cancer patients in the region would have to travel to Charlottetown for chemotherapy treatments until July 10 due to staffing shortages in the oncology department at Prince County Hospital, while those who need to see a medical oncologist would have to travel to Charlottetown until the end of August or earlier.

Philpott said that for the next four weeks, the hospital will be able to treat patients who have low-risk treatments — in other words, a low risk of any reactions to medication — with remote oncology support.

"Then as of the week of Aug. 11, we expect to be... back to normal in terms of our clinic appointments available here at PCH, because from that point forward we'll have clinic appointments [that] will be face-to-face with an oncologist."

Prince County Hospital has two full-time oncologists who also provide part-time coverage at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Philpott said only one is working this summer due to the other being on vacation and education leave.

He said the plan for a third medical oncologist to join the team at the QEH's Cancer Treatment Centre is still on schedule for mid-September.

While services are returning to Prince County Hospital, Philpott noted there will still be cases in which patients will need to travel to the Cancer Treatment Centre in Charlottetown.

This includes patients who need radiation therapy, which is offered only at the QEH, as well as those with new cancer diagnoses who require their first consultation there.

"This would also extend to patients who may not necessarily be new to the cancer service, but are also [being] seen for the very first time by a new oncologist, so that will never change," Philpott said.