CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — As of Monday, P.E.I. is down two psychiatrists.
In a statement issued to The Guardian, Health P.E.I. has confirmed the departure of two staff psychiatrists.
One of the two had worked at the psychiatric unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. His resignation was effective Monday.
The health agency has secured a psychiatrist to serve as a locum in Unit 9 until Jan. 16. This locum had previously worked in the psychiatric unit at Queen Elizabeth over the summer.
A second psychiatrist, who had been on leave since July, resigned in November.
The news comes as Health P.E.I. plans to increase the complement of psychiatrists from 15 to 21.
As of mid-November, P.E.I. had 14.25 full-time equivalent practising psychiatrists. The province has struggled in recent years to recruit and retain psychiatrists.
“We have been working diligently to secure longer-term psychiatry coverage for Unit 9. We continue to identify potential candidates and conduct interviews when interested candidates are identified,” a Health P.E.I. representative said in a statement.
Health P.E.I. also has plans to expand the use of tele-medicine for adult inpatients, in a similar fashion to its use for adolescent inpatients at Unit 9 over the last two years.
“The use of tele-psychiatry would provide interim assistance but not (a) replacement of the need for a regular, adult psychiatrist working in person on Unit 9,” Health P.E.I. said in a statement.
“Our goal is to ensure we have a roster of psychiatrists to ensure we can provide consistent service to those who need it.”
Although Health P.E.I. did not confirm the name of the two departing psychiatrists, The Guardian has confirmed the licence of Dr. Mohomed Al Masri will expire this week, while Dr. Mahesh Nachnani resigned in July.
Both began work in the province fewer than two years ago. A media release from Health P.E.I. from February 2018 noted both Al Masri and Nachnani were among four psychiatrists that had been successfully recruited since the beginning of that year. The other two psychiatrists were child and adolescent psychiatrist Anita Taj and geriatric psychiatrist Javier Salabarria.
Twenty-two months later, Salabarria is the only one of the four currently practising on the Island. Taj departed the Island in February of 2019 after completing a one-year locum.
The Guardian reached out to Al Masri but did not hear back by deadline. A contact number could not be found for Nachnani.
