Healthcare Access Worse in PEI Than Any Other Province
- Michelle Zhu
- Mar 25, 2024
- 1 min read
According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, Prince Edward Island ranks last among all the ten provinces when it comes to the population percentage with access to a regular health-care provider.
A lack of access to primary care providers means that those admitted to a hospital will often have more advanced illnesses that have gone untreated and unidentified. In addition, due to the emergency department wait times that can reach around 18 hours, many are choosing to take the risk and try to wait their respective issues out.
Graph from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-health-care-access-lowest-in-canada-1.7089196
Similar negative trends over the last ten years can be seen in the other maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia). This contrasts to the rise in access to primary health care providers across Canada in the same period.
Despite the decreasing access to healthcare, the rate of population growth has been higher than Canada’s overall every year since 2016 according to PEI’s 2023 population report.
This issue has deepened since the pandemic, during and after which there were many retirements. Health P.E.I.'s CEO Dr. Michael Gardam has stated that for every long-time physician lost, it takes about three more to replace them.
There is currently a medical school being built on the UPEI campus. However, Gardam has stated that this doesn’t solve the root problem. A medical school will require doctors to teach in it, and these doctors won’t be able to see as many patients while teaching, causing further problems for access to care.
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