Prince County Hospital's intensive-care unit to reopen in August, administrator confirms

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 14, 2025 10:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Prince County Hospital successful Summerside is preparing to reconstruct 2 important wellness services adjacent month, including the reopening of its intensive-care portion and resuming in-person oncologist appointments.

The eight-bed ICU has been closed since May 2023 owed to a deficiency of specialized staff.

Since then, much superior intensive-care cases person been handled astatine the Queen Elizabeth Hospital successful Charlottetown, 60 kilometres away.

"It's been a mates of years earlier we've been capable to connection this circumstantial level of critical-care services, and we're precise overmuch looking guardant to the accidental to bash that again," Rob Philpott, Prince County Hospital's administrator, told CBC's Island Morning on Monday.

Cancer care

Cancer patients successful occidental P.E.I. volition erstwhile again be capable to spot an oncologist successful idiosyncratic astatine PCH arsenic of Aug. 11.

Earlier this month, CBC News reported that crab patients successful the portion had to question to Charlottetown for chemotherapy treatments until July 10 owed to staffing shortages successful the oncology section astatine Prince County Hospital, portion those who request to spot a aesculapian oncologist would person to question to Charlottetown until the extremity of August oregon earlier.

Philpott said that for the adjacent 4 weeks the infirmary volition beryllium capable to dainty patients who person low-risk treatments — successful different words, a debased hazard of immoderate reactions to medication — with distant oncology support.

"Then arsenic of the week of Aug. 11, we expect to be, I'll say back to mean successful presumption of our session appointments disposable present astatine PCH, due to the fact that from that constituent guardant we'll person session appointments [that] volition beryllium face-to-face with an oncologist."

Prince County Hospital has 2 full-time oncologists who besides supply part-time sum astatine the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Philpott said lone 1 is moving this summertime owed to the different being connected abrogation and acquisition leave.

He said the program for a 3rd aesculapian oncologist to articulation the squad astatine the QEH's Cancer Treatment Centre is inactive connected docket for mid-September.

Continued question for immoderate crab treatments

While services are returning to Prince County Hospital, Philpott noted determination volition inactive beryllium instances wherever patients volition request to question to the Cancer Treatment Centre successful Charlottetown.

This includes patients who need radiation therapy, which is lone offered astatine the QEH, arsenic good arsenic those with caller crab diagnoses who necessitate their archetypal consultation there.

"This would besides widen to patients who whitethorn not needfully beryllium caller to the crab service, but are besides seen for the precise archetypal clip by a caller oncologist, truthful that volition ne'er change," Philpott said.