MONTAGUE, P.E.I. – Two new family doctors in eastern P.E.I. mark the first time in nearly a decade that Kings County has a full physician complement.
Dr. Penny Thomson started this week at the Montague Health Centre and Dr. Craig Malone will begin this July in Souris after completing his final residency rotation.
Health P.E.I. staff will contact residents of Kings County on the Provincial Patient Registry – as well as former patients of doctors David Hambly and Adriana Verdejo – to assign them to the new full-time physicians in the coming months.
Thomson is a graduate of the P.E.I. Family Medicine Residency Program, and will accept patients from Southern Kings into her practice who do not have a primary-care provider. This includes the 742 people currently on the patient registry, as well as former patients of Hambly who are without a primary-care provider.
In addition to her family practice, Thomson will also work in the emergency department at Kings County Memorial Hospital.
Malone joins the team of primary-care providers at the Eastern Kings Health Centre. He will take on patients from Eastern Kings, including the 138 people currently on the registry and former patients of Verdejo.
In addition to his family practice, Malone will also provide in-patient care at Souris Hospital.
Souris residents will also have enhanced access to primary care services when Dr. Nicole Fancy begins working one day per week at the Eastern Kings Health Centre, in addition to maintaining her family practice in Montague. Fancy will also participate in the on-call rotation at Souris Hospital.
“This marks the first time that we have been able to fill all family physician positions in Kings County, enabling us to ensure that everyone who wants a primary care provider gets one,” said Dr. André Celliers, chief of family and community medicine.
“We are fortunate to have such skilled physicians as part of our team who are committed to providing the best care to their patients and being active members of their communities.”
Islanders wanting for a primary-care provider are encouraged to contact the Provincial Patient Registry by calling toll-free 1-855-563-2101, or visiting www.healthpei.ca/patientregistry.
