SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I — The number of Islanders without a family physician is debatable but District 22 Liberal candidate Gerard Greenan said the doctor shortage in Summerside has reached the critical stage.
"We've done a bit of research in the area and the facts that I've been able to access, in contacts we made at Summerside Medical Centre, are 2,500 people within this community who want or don't have a family doctor," Greenan said during a recent news conference.
"In contacting East Prince Health, the official there gave us a figure of 4,000 people in the East Prince Health Region who want or don't have a family physician."
Greenan didn't dispute PC claims that 17 new doctors have been recently hired in the province but said 14 family physicians have left their practices recently.