Thousands of patients in Sackville have been getting bad news from two longstanding primary care doctors in the area. Dr. Catherine Johnston and Dr. Andrea Wall are both closing their practices this summer.

After 23 years treating patients in Sackville, Dr. Johnston is retiring at the end of June. Dr. Wall has been practicing in Sackville for 18 years, and is closing her practice on August 4 as she moves on to another position in Moncton. Neither doctor has been able to find a replacement, which means all their patients will become ‘orphaned’ in the system.

There are rumours of other possible closures of practices, but so far they are proving unfounded. CHMA reached out to Dr. Beatrice Milne and Dr. Graeme Stewart, neither of whom have existing plans to retire, despite rumours to the contrary. Both Dr. Milne and Dr. Stewart will continue to see their patients in Sackville.

Another rumoured closure is not what it seems: Dr. Allison Dysart is hoping to move his practice closer to his home in the Cocagne-Grand Digue area. If possible, Dr. Dysart plans to keep his current patient roster. The longtime Sackville physician has been commuting to Sackville from Cocagne since last fall.

Meanwhile, Drs. Wall and Johnston are advising their patients to register with Patient Connect NB as soon as possible to get on the ‘first come, first served’ list that promises to match people with primary care providers as they become available. Patients are also being told they can rely on expanded services at pharmacies, virtual care at evisitNB, after hours clinics in Moncton, and telecare 811. (A good summary of options is available at sowhywait.ca.) Some patients on the Patient Connect NB list will have access to NB Health Link, the provincial initiative that aims to improve access to primary care while people wait for a provider.

‘Lack of continuity’ without dedicated doctor a concern

CHMA put out a call to patients who are losing their doctor, and heard back from a number of people – especially those with chronic conditions – who are very concerned.

Judith Cane and her husband will both lose their doctor at the end of June, but Cane is mostly concerned for her mother who takes a number of medications and requires quarterly blood tests as part of her care.

Cane’s family physician kept a standing requisition for her mother’s blood tests, so all she had to do was make appointments to have blood taken, and then her doctor would receive her results. But now without a family physician, the 89-year-old will need to have an online appointment with a care provider every time she’s due for a test. And even as a registrant with NB HealthLink, that could mean a new health care provider every time.

While Cane has helped her mother register for NB Health Link, in person appointments in Moncton are hard to come by, and even with online appointments, there’s no option for consistent continuous care, which is necessary for many patients like Cane’s mother.

“My mother takes 13 pills a day,” says Cane. “Who’s monitoring that? She’s getting older… Are those bills still appropriate? Should we be increasing the dosage, reducing the dosage? Who’s monitoring her medication? I can tell you, no one is. And that scares me.”

Ana Nocturna Forlin is also losing her current Sackville doctor. Forlin was recently diagnosed with a somewhat rare chronic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS. Forlin says plenty of doctors are not familiar with EDS, so not having a dedicated primary care provider puts her at risk.

“The lack of continuity can actually be a threat to my life,” says Forlin, “and it’s really scary.”

Forlin is in her thirties, and has no trouble navigating technology, but the options available through walk-in clinics, NB Health Link, and the local emergency room just won’t work for someone in her position. “I’m feeling pretty hopeless overall,” says Forlin.

Cane says that as she helps her mother navigate the ‘orphaned patient’ landscape, she is thinking of the people in similar positions who are without access to devices and/or family support available.

“I think they’re forgetting about a whole part of our population in New Brunswick,” says Cane. “They keep saying they want to keep seniors in their home, and they keep making it more difficult for them to survive.”

Exact number of orphaned patients still unknown

CHMA has reached out to Dr. Wall and Dr. Johnston to find out how many patients in the Tantramar area will find themselves orphaned this summer, as their offices close. Some estimates peg the number of patients at between 800 to 1000 per practice, others say the average is in the range of 1500 to 2000. When Dr. Cory Long closed his practice in 2021, just over 1300 patients were orphaned.

CHMA has reached out to the Department of Health for current numbers on the Patient Connect NB waiting list.

Speaking to CBC Moncton’s Information Morning on Monday, co-chair of the Rural Health Action Group John Higham said the group has heard from a number of people who are scared to lose their physician.

Higham told the CBC the group is asking Horizon to move more quickly on a project to open a clinic in Sackville, but didn’t share details on what type of clinic, how it would operate, or who would work there.

The Rural Health Action group met Monday evening to discuss their future plans. In a news release last week, the group said it was, ”meeting with officials of the Horizon Healthcare Network to help devise interim solutions to the anticipated shortage” of primary care doctors.

The group was already involved in recruiting doctors to work in the Sackville Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, which remains on reduced service hours.

CHMA news will continue coverage on the impending primary care shortage. Please get in touch with news@chmafm.com if you have a story to share.