Emergency wait times too long, says Health PEI CEO

Too many Prince Edward Islanders are waiting too long for treatment when they go to the emergency department, says Health PEI's new CEO.

Michael Mayne told CBC News that improving those wait times will start with reconsidering what happens at the moment a patient walks into the hospital.

"I want to work with the front end of our system," said Mayne.

"I want to improve that part because we need better strategies on how we can triage people and get them to the right place at the right time, and they get their treatment faster."

Mayne, the former deputy health minister, and took over as CEO from Dr. Richard Wedge in April.

Patient registry 'needs a very thorough audit'

Mayne said changes in the patient registry, the wait list for Islanders looking for a family doctor, needs a revamping.

• Registry not only route to doctor: Health PEI

"From a primary care perspective, most groups that I speak with tell me that we need a better tool," said Mayne.

"It's not as simple as just drawing up a list and assigning people, but it needs to improve. I find the tool needs a very close look, it needs a very thorough audit, and it needs to improve significantly, something we'll be focusing on right in the early days."

The registry was launched as a way to assign family doctors in 2000. There are currently about 5,000 Islanders on it.

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