Dalhousie residents demand improved doctor recruitment after clinic temporarily closes

Residents of the Restigouche region fear extended cuts to health care after staffing shortages forced the temporary closure of a walk-in clinic.

The walk-in clinic at St. Joseph Community Health Centre in Dalhousie has stopped taking patients for a month, after the Vitalit Health Network said a lack of resources left it with no choice but to close.

Dalhousie Mayor Normand Pelletier said the northern New Brunswick community has been repeatedly raising concerns over recruitment efforts that have failed to find and retain enough health care providers.

"It's frustrating," he said. "We have a major crisis with the health care system in Restigouche County and it's falling on deaf ears."

The clinic usually operates Monday to Friday and sees upwards of 60 clients per day, according to the mayor. It once operated seven days per week. Since the start of the pandemic, patients have hadto call in advance to get a spot.

While many people waiting to be assigned a family doctor visit the clinic, a growing number of residents with a primary care provider also frequent it for care. That's because of a gradual decrease in ability to get timely appointments.

Pelletier said the walk-in clinic draws people from throughout the region and helps take pressure off the emergency room at the Campbellton Regional Hospital.

"You have people in this whole region that utilize our clinic, you get the 60 to 80 people that used to come to that clinic where do they go now," he said.

Longer distances for care

The loss of the Dalhousie area's only walk-in clinic is forcing the area's large senior population to travel longer distances to access care.

It's one of the province's oldest communities, with a median age of about 60. But it's population is also starting to grow again, attracting 100 new residents, according to the 2021 census.

Residents of the town of 3,223 people and surrounding area now are driving 25 minutes west to Campbellton to visit the emergency room, or travelling an hour south to a walk-in clinic in Bathurst.

WATCH / Closure of only walk-in clinic has aging community worried

Dalhousie's only walk-in clinic closes amid 'major crisis' in staffing

3 years ago

Duration 3:03

Residents are calling on the Vitalit Health Network to improve recruitment of doctors and nurses for the Restigouche region.

Gail Fearon, a town councillor, said getting an appointment in Dalhousie became challenging once it became necessary to call.

One morning, Fearon's family had to try calling with three different phones at once to get through and save a spot for her 100-year-old mother. She still lives independently in her own home.

"Something has to be done. We need a better way than phoning all the time, and now they're pushing people to phone 811," she said.

'Chipping away at us'

For longtime Dalhousie residents, cuts to health care are nothing new.

The St. Joseph Community Health Centre was once a hospital with 100 beds. But as the population decreased in the region, the province began to reduce services.

In 1997, the number of beds decreased to 42. Then in 2005, the hospital became a community health centre with a walk-in clinic.

The clinic's hours have been reduced over the past decade, until the temporary closure this month.

Without the clinic, many seniors are in a bind. There is no taxi service or public transportation, and a volunteer drive service is stretched.

Fearon said residents are having trouble renewing prescriptions after the closure.

"They've been chipping away at us for a long time," she said. "I challenge the government of the day to listen to us. To come here to listen to the people, the taxpayers, who deserve better."

Recruitment challenges

Vitalit said it's working with local partners to address a shortage of 13 primary care providers in the Restigouche region.

Jacques Duclos, vice-president of community services and mental health, said the Dalhousie clinic has never managed to fill all six family doctor positionsin recent years. There are currently just two physicians, and one is on leave.

"I understand the concerns and the noise that is being made by the population regarding health services," Duclos said in an interview.

Vitalit is visiting nursing programs at the University of Moncton, University of New Brunswick and other schools. Its human resources department has also given presentations at local high schools to encourage young students to pursue a career in health care.

The community health centre also offers specialized care and a collaborative practice, which is a primary care provider for many residents. It's been easier to recruit nurse practitioners for that practice, rather than the walk-in clinic.

Duclos said family physicians working at the Dalhousie health centre said the workload attached to the clinic "was not sustainable" and not something they wanted to offer because it took away from the collaborative practice.

"They were neglecting their own patients to whom they were the primary care provider at the collaborative care practice," he said.

There are 4,200 patients with a regular primary care provider at the practice.

With improvements to virtual care and telemedicine during the pandemic, Duclos said discussions are ongoing about the primary care model.

"Our challenge right now is really to rethink the way we are providing access to primary care services in the entire region, and how do we make the best of that clinic," he said.

'We're in deep crisis'

Residents are planning to hold a protest in downtown Dalhousie on Friday to call for improved recruitment of family doctors and nurses.

Pelletier said he knows local students studying to become doctors and nurses who are never approached by Vitalit or Horizon, and are instead recruited to work in other provinces. He's worried more health-care services will be consolidated in the north if the staffing problem continues.

"We're in deep crisis and there's nothing that's being done in the province as far as I'm concerned," he said.

"It doesn't seem like the provincial government really cares, and Vitalit certainly is not stepping up to the plate."