Patients of unvaccinated N.B. doctors scramble to find primary care

With their unvaccinated doctors suspended, many New Brunswickers are now scrambling to find primary care in a province already desperate for more family doctors.

Kate Proctor and her family are among them. 

"We have been left in the dark this whole time about her vaccine status, and she has closed her office indefinitely without notifying her patients," Proctor said. 

The 41-year-old Moncton woman only found out when she went to the pharmacy to fill a prescription after being released from hospital. She was told her doctor had lost her prescribing privileges.  

Proctor is now scrambling to find another doctor — along with tens of thousands of other New Brunswickers. She doesn't even know how to access her medical records. 

The New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons has not identified the unvaccinated doctors or said where they practise, but they're all with Horizon Health. The college also hasn't provided the specific number but said "fewer than 10" have been suspended.

Lack of useful information from the college and the suspended doctors has just increased the anxiety for patients, according to two who were interviewed by CBC News. 

A recording at Proctor's doctor's office said it is closed indefinitely and to check back "periodically" for updates. There is no ability to leave a message. 

Proctor wishes there had been more transparency about the college's move to suspend the doctors.

She believes the college should have named the doctors and had a plan in place for how to deal with the patients who were then left without primary care. 

Last week, the registrar, Dr. Ed Schollenberg, said the college discussed naming the doctors but decided against it. He declined further comment when contacted on Monday and Tuesday.

At the very least, Proctor said, suspended doctors should have notified their own patients. 

Most are finding out when they make appointments, when filling prescriptions, or when tests are being cancelled by hospitals. 

Proctor has called around but hasn't had any luck finding another doctor. She worries about not having a doctor for her two children, one of whom has ongoing health issues.