P.E.I. opposition is asking for answers about feasibility of new medical school

Prince Edward Island's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday, July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

CHARLOTTETOWN -

While construction continues on the University of Prince Edward Island's new medical school, the leader of the opposition says Islanders deserve answers on how the school will affect an already strained health system.

P.E.I. interim Liberal Leader Hal Perry said "multiple red flags" brought up by the province's outgoing health authority CEO and a report detailing how many doctors are needed to operate the medical school must be addressed.

"This medical school was presented as a beacon of hope for our health system, so Islanders need to know if this is actually going to solve the problem or if it's going to be exacerbating the very problem it was meant to solve," Perry said in an interview Monday.

Dr. Michael Gardam noted concerns about the medical school as one of the reasons for his departure from his role as CEO of Health P.E.I. In local media interviews, Gardam has said he's concerned there are already too few doctors in P.E.I. to care for patients, and the situation could worsen if those doctors also have to provide training to medical students.

Last week at a legislative committee meeting Perry requested that Gardam appear before a legislature committee to discuss the issue.

Gardam -- who announced his resignation in July but remains with Health P.E.I. until the end of March -- was not available for comment Monday.

"What red flags has the CEO of Health P.E.I. been raising and for how long has he been sharing those concerns? That's why I put forward these concerns to committee," Perry said.

The health committee agreed to ask Gardam to appear before the committee, though no date has been set.

The Medical Society of Prince Edward Island, which represents 400 working and retired physicians in the province, has said the province must focus on alleviating the doctor shortage before moving ahead with a medical school.

"Only open the medical school when physicians and the health-care system can fully support quality medical education and provide quality patient care," the society said in a list of priorities published ahead of last year's provincial election.

The statement notes that creating a medical school could, in seven to 10 years, improve doctor recruitment on the Island. However, work to develop the medical school "needs to be done in a way where physicians can support it, without compromising their primary role in providing patient care."

 A report commissioned by the university and prepared by consulting firm Spindle Strategy says the province's health system is "overburdened" and there is a shortage of family doctors.

The report, dated October 2023, was released by the University of P.E.I. faculty association, which obtained it through a freedom of information request.

Perry said the report shows that in some medical specialties, more doctors are needed for the medical school than are currently working in the province. The report also noted: "The physician community does not feel meaningfully engaged in the planning process that preceded the announcement of the new medical school."

The Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Paul Young, the chief operating officer for the new faculty of medicine, said the report only represents a "snapshot" in time and the school is in a good position to welcome the first cohort of 20 students in August 2025.

Young said the school is aware of the valid concerns about the potential impact of the medical school, and says the new faculty will be able to limit its strain on local doctors through support from Newfoundland and Labrador's Memorial University.

"There's never been an expectation, never a vision that UPEI could do this on its own," Young said in an interview Monday.

He said the new faculty will rely on Memorial's curriculum and some instruction from the St. John's, N.L., university's professors.

In the first year of the program, Young said about 95 per cent of classroom learning will happen virtually through live video streaming of Memorial classes. Lab-based courses are expected to happen in person at the University of P.E.I. campus through instruction support from the veterinary college and nursing program, Young said.

He said it's too early to say what support the veterinary college would provide. "We're still in the earlier phases of identifying exactly what the faculty model will look like, what the resources will be and how they're best utilized," he said.

"When we come into the third year, we're talking into 2027, that's where the concerns really lie around the health system, because the majority of (students') third and fourth year is spent out in the health system," he said.

This concern is what prompted the school to hire Spindle, Young said, to work on solutions ahead of that date. He said a final report from the consultant will be released in February.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.

 -- By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.

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