P.E.I. doctors sound alarm about proposed patient targets – CTV

July 08, 2025

In some P.E.I. health clinics, hallways are filled with frustration.

Months of consultations produced a ground-breaking Physician Services Agreement last year. It made the province the first to recognize family medicine as a specialty, and promised a 35 per cent pay bump over five years.

But now, doctors say they’ve been “blindsided” by a draft operating guide that sets patient-load benchmarks.

“We desperately need new bodies here to help us with the work. Back up a year ago, we had a lot of optimism. We had a lot of hope,” said Dr. Trina Stewart, a family physician in Summerside, P.E.I., and member of the Longitudinal Family Medicine Working Group.

Health P.E.I.’s proposal calls on family physicians to take on 24 appointments per day, at an average of 15 minutes each, and 1,600 patients per doctor.

Those targets are unsustainable and unsafe, says Dr. David Antle, another Summerside family physician and LFM Working Group member.

“There’s no way that we’re going to be able to perform any patient care at near the level that our patients expect and deserve,” he said.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/pei-doctors-sound-alarm-about-proposed-patient-targets/