Medical school is not a cure for wait list
P.E.I. has reached a disturbing milestone – 15,000 people on a wait list for a family doctor or nurse practitioner.
Actually, as of Monday, the precise number is 15,215 people on the wait list, and it’s growing.
It’s a disgrace given all the boasting the province does about our strong economy.
And so far, this government hasn’t done enough to deal with this issue. But then again, neither had previous governments.
The proposed idea of a medical school at UPEI has recently found its way back in The Guardian’s opinion pages. A Guardian reader raised concerns about the idea last week, and of course, the NDP, and in particular federal candidate for Egmont Sharon Dunn, was quick to respond.
After all, a medical school at UPEI is the NDP’s legacy project. They haven’t been able to form government on P.E.I. or get elected federally, so they need something to point to as their legacy and contribution to the Island.
To be fair, Dunn argues that we need “an accelerated recruitment program” and “an increase in residency positions” in the shortterm as well as a medical school for the longterm.
But UPEI hasn’t said one way or the other if it even wants a medical school. And, given that the NDP campaigned on the idea of a medical school and only received three per cent of the vote in the provincial election and 7.6 per cent in the federal election, Islanders aren’t giving the idea a ringing endorsement either.
Tough budget decisions by the province and UPEI bursars would have to be made to get a medical school up and running, and with only so much money to go around, we don’t know what the impact will be on other programs and services. Plus, how are physician professors going to be recruited for a medical school when we can’t even recruit doctors in general?
Even if the idea is able to jump through all the hoops to be approved, we’re probably looking at 10 years or more before we know if it will make a difference. Let’s not forget that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland both have medical schools and doctor shortages. Both provinces have lengthy family doctor wait lists as well. So, the idea that there is a correlation between a medical school and alleviating a doctor shortage isn’t playing out in Atlantic Canada.
P.E.I.’s provincial governments haven’t been able to solve the family doctor shortage, so let’s bring in some outside help to take a look at our situation and come up with some recommendations for change.
It’s better than dividing our resources and attention between realistic solutions needed today and a pipe-dream and legacy project for the future from a failed political party that may not change anything for the better.