New psychiatrists practising in province
“We’ve been working hard to renew our psychiatry service over the past year, and I am so pleased with (the) quality of psychiatrists that we are recruiting into our complement. It reinforces that we are making progress and moving in the right direction.” Dr. Heather Keizer
Another new psychiatrist has joined the provincial complement, the fourth since the start of the year.
Dr. Anita Taj, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, began practising last week in a one-year, full-time locum position supporting community mental health in Charlottetown.
Overall, the four newly recruited psychiatrists bring the current number of filled positions to 13 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, of which 8.3 are now participating in on-call services. Health P.E.I.’s psychiatry complement is 15 FTEs.
Health Minister Robert Mitchell said mental well-being is important to an individual’s overall health.
“As a government, we appreciate the importance of ensuring Islanders have access to highly skilled health-care professionals and remain committed to attracting more medical professionals, making sure that Islanders have access to the right care, when and where they need it.”
The other three psychiatrists who recently joined the complement also support in-patient and community mental health services.
They include Dr. Mohomed Al Masri, practising as a full-time permanent psychiatrist supporting inpatient mental health at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital; Dr. Mahesh Nachnani, currently practising as a full-time permanent psychiatrist supporting in-patient mental health at Prince County Hospital, as well as community mental health in Prince County; and Dr. Javier Salabarria, a geriatric psychiatrist practising as a 0.8 FTE locum at Hillsborough Hospital, as well as supporting community mental health in Charlottetown and the provincial geriatric program (he will transition to a full-time permanent position in July).
A three-month locum psychiatrist began practising last week, supporting community mental health services in Charlottetown.
Dr. Heather Keizer, psychiatrist and chief of mental health and addictions, said complex mental health issues require a psychiatry assessment and consultation to best support the individual’s health.
“We’ve been working hard to renew our psychiatry service over the past year, and I am so pleased with (the) quality of psychiatrists that we are recruiting into our complement. It reinforces that we are making progress and moving in the right direction.”