Tens of thousands of names remain on P.E.I. patient registry, despite promise to eliminate it by April

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Despite a run promise made by erstwhile premier Dennis King successful 2023, the Progressive Conservatives person not fulfilled their extremity of eliminating Prince Edward Island's diligent registry waitlist by April 2025.

The waitlist has really grown since the pledge was made, with astir 10,000 much Islanders present waiting to beryllium affiliated with a superior attraction provider.

The full fig of radical connected the registry sits at 37,431 as of the extremity of March, according to Health P.E.I. CEO Melanie Fraser. 

Melody Garnhum, who has been waiting to get a household doc since 2012, said it's hard to clasp retired anticipation — but she's trying. 

Garnhum enactment her sanction connected the database erstwhile she moved from Ontario backmost to her location state of P.E.I. much than a decennary ago. 

WATCH | Province falls good abbreviated connected pledge to destruct P.E.I.'s diligent registry:

She said she had a caregiver practitioner erstwhile she archetypal joined the registry, but successful 2020 she felt she needed a doc due to the fact that of her analyzable aesculapian needs. Now, she has nary health-care supplier astatine all. 

"I thought: OK, I'll travel backmost to P.E.I. with my young family… I'll conscionable telephone up 1 of the bully aged doctors present — oregon the 1 we had erstwhile I near — and conscionable say, 'Hey, we moved back,' and we'll beryllium fine," Garnhum said. 

"13 years connected the waitlist… I made the astir disastrous prime for my health." 

Not acceptable, says Health P.E.I.

Waiting much than a decennary for a superior attraction doc is not acceptable, said Fraser. 

"Primary attraction is cardinal to wellness care," she said successful an interrogation with CBC News.

"The champion health-care systems person coagulated superior care, and that should beryllium our focus." 

Fraser said the committedness made by the PCs was astir apt overly ambitious fixed the maturation of the Island's colonisation and the diminution successful health staffing. 

But the enactment that's been done since past has been having an effect, she said. 

In March, 837 radical signed up for the diligent registry, portion 911 were affiliated with wellness providers. 

"The numbers are really telling america they're not getting further isolated anymore," she said. "I would accidental we're not winning yet, but we're astatine that tipping constituent wherever we're starting to spot that momentum successful the close direction." 

'It's astir a small embarrassing'

That momentum hasn't always come full circle. 

Kayla Shoreman is simply a caregiver practitioner — 1 of the types of health-care professionals radical who articulation the diligent registry are trying to person attraction from.

But Shoreman said she's been connected the waitlist herself for years.

"It's astir a small embarrassing," she said, adding that she worries astir talking astir it successful beforehand of co-workers due to the fact that she doesn't privation them to consciousness pressured to dainty her. 

"Sometimes I don't person the objectivity to cognize what I need. I would similar to person a supplier to bounce things disconnected of and to springiness maine that care, but I besides cognize that I'm amended equipped than a batch of people." 

Shoreman said she's blessed to hold her crook to beryllium affiliated with a provider, but she didn't recognize however agelong it would instrumentality erstwhile she archetypal enactment her sanction connected the list. 

"I was consenting to hold a year, a mates of years. I thought that was the norm," she said. "But now… I spot that it's… sometimes up to 10 oregon much years earlier you're getting disconnected that list."

Shoreman said she worries astir others who are successful the aforesaid concern who mightiness not person the aforesaid advantages she does — an acquisition successful wellness care, knowing however to navigate the system and speaking English arsenic her superior language.

"If I'm successful this situation, determination are radical who person analyzable diseases who don't recognize our wellness attraction arsenic good arsenic I bash who are decidedly struggling much than I do," she said.

"I deliberation we request to commencement identifying radical who are much disadvantaged… due to the fact that those are the radical who are getting near down and who are falling sick due to the fact that of this deficiency of superior care."