This summer Dr. Syed Naqvi is doing something for many people at P.E.I. do: He's taking a vacation and closing his business while he's gone.
However, Naqvi is a family physician and his business includes the Summerside Family Clinic. This clinic is the only walk-in his clinic in the city available to patients without a primary care physician.
And the clinic was closed for his two weeks because he was unable to find a replacement doctor for him while he was on vacation.
"My job is a complete complement family physician," Naqvi told CBC News on Friday. "I do far more than my work" . Walk-in runs his clinic and his own practice.
Naqvi is a paid physician with about 3,000 patients, but also sees about 15 walk-in patients per day. own patient.
"I do it for people who have nowhere to go," he said. "Providing walk-in clinics is not part of my contract."
Opposition concerned about access
Greens of P.E.I. MLA's Trish Altass, Summerside's only walk-in, said he was worried about the clinic closing. She said people are stressed and facing long wait times in the emergency room, but they have no choice.
"We really need a more sustainable model than the current … private clinics available. We are doing it,” Altass said. "If that doctor is absent for a period of time, there is no access at all." He said he welcomes anything he can do to put on.
In a statement emailed on Friday, state officials said: "The Health P.E.I. Although we do not have access to primary care, we recognize that lack of access to primary care is a serious concern… Increasing access to health care is one of the health system's major priorities.
Complaints about electronic medical records
While speaking about the problems currently facing P.E.I.New systems of electronic medical records accused of delaying care and making appointments less likely.
"New software to bring online provided," he said. "This software is slowing us down by a factor of 2.5. For example, if we were seeing 50 patients a day, they're down to . . . 20." 43}
He said he is trying to see as many patients as possible, but that means a lot of overtime, working up to 14 hours a day.
Weekends are for paperwork
For example, he said he started work at 8am on Thursday and the last patient left the office at 11pm. Before the new system, he worked from 9am to 5pm.
"And I have to do paperwork over the weekend," he added.
Naqvi strongly recommends Health P.E.I. He hires assistants to help doctors, especially paying doctors, learn the time-consuming and detailed new system. Not only has his income fallen, he said, his patients have become impatient with long wait times and fewer available appointments.
He said he knows some doctors have given up and gone back to the old paper system. He also knows several doctors who have taken early retirement or changed careers to avoid the new system.
Naqvi himself still makes paper copies of patient records as a backup, as he fears the new system will not work.
need support and understanding. I think he needs to strategize. I need resources.- Dr Syed Naqvi
"I'm in a dilemma right now," he said, adding that he feared he would burn out without help.
"We need support and understanding... I think we need strategy. We need resources."
Naqvi has lived and worked at P.E.I. since 2006 and has no intention of leaving his practice.
He is also a trained emergency room doctor, and he says the tools he learned to manage these shifts have helped him avoid burnout. increase.