Family doctor in Summerside taking immediate leave, closing clinic

Prince Edward Island is now short another family doctor, the province's health agency confirmed Thursday.

Dr. Harold Molyneaux has taken an immediate leave due to medical reasons,Health P.E.I. said in a statement.

As a resulthis Summerside clinic, which served around 2,500 patients,will close immediately.

The health agency said any patients impacted by the closure will be mailed information within the next several days with instructions on how to access care, including virtual care.

In the meantime, information about accessing health care can be found on Health P.E.I.'s website.

The closure comes amidst an ongoing shortage of physicians in the province. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, the Islandranks last among allprovinces for how much of itspopulation has access toa regular health-care provider.

Since the beginning of 2024, the P.E.I. Patient Registry the province's waitlist of Islanders withouta family doctorhas grown by nearly 1,000 people,from just over 36,000 to 36,970 as of March 4, representing more than one-in-five Islanders.