Pilot Program Poised to Connect 1,750 County Residents With Family Doctors

Date: April 11, 2024

A physician recruitment pilot project in Prince Edward County is showing early success and could soon help as many as 1,750 residents secure a long-awaited family doctor.

County council has endorsed a plan that would remove 1,000 residents from the provincial Health Care Connect (HCC) wait list through a recently launched rostering pilot. In addition, councillors approved a request for $75,000 to expand the program, allowing three additional new or existing physicians to each accept 250 more patients—bringing the total to another 750 residents.

Final ratification of the funding request is scheduled for the April 23 council meeting.

Strong Interest From Physicians

Adam Hambly, recruiter with the County’s Family Physician Recruitment and Retention Program, told members of Committee of the Whole that demand for the pilot exceeded expectations. The original pilot, approved last fall, offered four physician incentives of $25,000 each for doctors willing to take on 250 patients from the HCC list.

While the official HCC wait list showed about 2,000 County residents last fall, Hambly cautioned that the number does not reflect reality. He estimates closer to 5,000 residents may be without a regular family doctor but have not registered on the provincial list. He also anticipates the wait list will grow again as residents realize spots are becoming available.

Budget Implications

If the additional incentives are approved, total municipal spending on physician recruitment would rise to $425,000, compared with the $350,000 currently allocated. This year’s budget already includes $250,000 for the third year of County Docs operations and $100,000 for the initial pilot incentives.

Hambly noted that while physician shortages remain the main challenge, onboarding hundreds of patients at once is also labour-intensive. Because doctors operate as independent practices, the administrative and clinical work required to add large patient rosters comes at a cost, which the incentives are designed to offset.

Progress on Recruitment

Since launching roughly 20 months ago, County Docs has successfully recruited six physicians, either already practicing or expected to arrive soon. Two doctors began work in January, while others are anticipated in May, June, and September. Another physician is also expected later this year.

The Ministry of Health has allocated 23 physician positions to Prince Edward County. Currently, 16 physicians and their teams are working within the Prince Edward Family Health Team across five clinic locations—four in Picton and one in Wellington. However, seven vacancies remain, with four retirements confirmed for 2024.

Hambly said further updates on return-of-service incentives will be included in the County’s 2025 budget discussions.

Interim Care Options Expanding

To support residents without a family doctor, several interim services remain in place, including cancer screening, hospital discharge follow-up, and newborn care programs.

New one-day-per-week community clinics in Picton and Wellington, which opened in late February, have already served 136 residents needing primary care, specialist referrals, or access to internal health programs.

The Picton clinic operates Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 35 Bridge Street, Suites 1 and 2. The Wellington clinic runs Thursdays during the same hours at Sandbanks Medical Centre, 12 Prince Edward Street.

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