A hospital along Labrador’s southern coast now only has access to a virtual doctor, and it has residents worried about possible fatal consequences as they wait for a permanent doctor to be hired.
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services said that effective immediately on Feb. 14, on-site emergency and primary-care coverage would be available through virtual services at the Labrador South Health Centre in Forteau.
Dorman Fowler told CBC his son, Silone Fowler, is quadriplegic and living in L’anse au Loup. He says his son needs to see a doctor every few weeks and it can turn urgent whenever a tube that drains his bladder gets blocked.
“We need something done and we need something done now — not next year,” Fowler told CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning.
He said his son regularly requires life-saving care at the hospital and an emergency can happen with very little notice.
“When [the tube] blocks, we don’t have time for medevac. We don’t have time for basically anything. Only just get directly to the hospital in Forteau and the tube needs to be changed right away,” said Fowler.
“If not, he can go into an anomic attack it’s called, where his blood pressure goes through the roof, sky high. And it could cause a heart attack, stroke or even death.”
Fowler says nurses can’t perform that kind of work, and says he’s scared something is going to happen.
“We need this addressed right now,” said Fowler.
Recruiting a doctor
Labrador-Grenfell Zone vice-president and acting chief operating officer Joanne Pelley said when people go to the hospital there’s on-site staff who do the assessment and consult with a virtual physician.
The virtual doctor works with the health-care providers on the ground. If needed, a patient could also be transferred to another facility, said Pelley. If the weather made it impossible to transfer a patient, she said they would then stay on location.
“They would be cared for by the staff at that facility, which is often a registered nurse or a regional registered nurse, and they would have that virtual support until it was safe access or transport,” said Pelley.
Vice-president of medical services Dr. Gena Budgen says the health authority has been “quite successful” with recruiting physicians. She said around 200 doctors have been recruited since the province’s four health authorities amalgamated in April 2023.
“Our recruitment and our retention program is quite strong and we are quite proud of the strides that we’ve made. Newfoundland and Labrador is a very attractive place to work for physicians and we have a lot to offer in this beautiful province,” said Budgen.
Bugden says NLHS is actively looking to fill a physician position in Forteau.
“Virtual emergency rooms have been quite successful, not only the emergency rooms but the primary-care offerings as well augmented our in-person service,” she said.
Bugden says she knows there are still some situations that require a doctor be on-site, but there are others that can be done well in a virtual manner.
“Our intention is to still continue to look for a long-term recruitment prospect for the Forteau centre. And as well we’re looking at more short-term and long-term locum opportunities,” she said.
Residents unhappy
Forteau Mayor Dean Flynn says going without a doctor on the ground is a problem for the region.
“We’ve been very concerned about what we feel is a degradation of services at our Labrador straits health centre,” said Flynn.
He says he’s been in touch with Health Minister John Hogan, region MHA Lisa Dempster and representatives with the NLHS Labrador-Grenfell zone.
Residents, Flynn says, are unhappy with the move.
“Virtual care is not adequate. If we have a serious accident in that area, we’re not going to be able to handle it,” he said.
Flynn wants there to be a memorandum of understanding with a hospital in Quebec — about 30 minutes away but with five doctors — to regularly see patients from Labrador. He says he’s worried that a lack of a doctor will add further stress to the nurses working in Forteau and that will make them eventually leave.
“They’re very good nurses but they’re not trained to deal with multiple victims,” he said.
NLHS told Flynn the earliest a doctor would be hired is July.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page
