PC MLA takes government to task over walk-in access in eastern P.E.I.

Backbench PC MLA Sidney MacEwen took his government's health minister to task Tuesday over a lack of access to walk-in clinics in eastern P.E.I., while suggesting the province follow Nova Scotia's lead with a pilot program to use pharmacists as part of a primary care team.

MacEwen noted the only walk-in clinic that operates east of Stratford — an area encompassing the entirety of Kings County and a portion of Queens — is in Morell, where a nurse practitioner operates a clinic that runs once a week for three hours every Wednesday morning.

Outside those hours, residents who need care who don't have a family care provider have to go to the emergency room in Montague or head to walk-in clinics in Stratford or Charlottetown.

"We know about the messaging and how important it is to not tie up the Montague ER with non-emergency cases," MacEwen noted during question period. 

"As always, in eastern P.E.I., we're expected to drive to Charlottetown to walk-in clinics that are already full by the time we get there.

"Do you feel that there's adequate walk-in clinic time east of Stratford?" he asked Health Minister Ernie Hudson.

Hudson provided a short recollection about the time he went to Morell to speak with MacEwen and others about the problem, then diverged into talking about the latest COVID flare-up before finally addressing MacEwen's question.

"I would have to agree with the member that, yes, we have to do better, absolutely, and to work with the community and work with the member on this."

"The answer, we know, is no," came the retort from MacEwen, the rest of his response drowned out by the thumping of desks by members of all three parties.

MacEwen has been campaigning for better walk-in access for Morell since 2007, eight years before he was first elected to represent the district. 

His pitch Tuesday was for a new model of care being piloted in Nova Scotia.

That model involves pharmacists working with nurse practitioners to provide primary care.

Two such clinics are being operated in Nova Scotia by Lawtons Drugs.

P.E.I. is moving forward with a different model of collaborative care, with government promising to have five medical homes operational by the end of March 2022.