Patients on the waiting list for Horizon’s new primary care clinic based in Sackville are stressed out.
The new clinic began operating in September on a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” basis, with triaged lists coming from two local doctors who recently closed their practices. Then a local nurse practitioner who took another position was not replaced, and her patients were added to the prioritized list. Most recently, Horizon says it will also start adding orphaned patients from the recently closed practice of Dr. Adrian Kelly.
That means despite the impressive fact that the two part-time doctors at the clinic (working a combined total of three days per week) have seen more than 700 patients since September, the waiting list for Tantramar’s new primary care clinic is growing, not shrinking.
‘Not knowing is the worst part’
Tracy Lapointe is one of those waiting. The 41-year-old had a cerebellar stroke in November of 2022, and since then has been recovering with the help of her former doctor, Andrea Wall. When Dr. Wall closed her practice this summer, Lapointe was put on the list for Horizon’s new primary care clinic. “I was told that because of my needs with medication and follow up for stroke recovery, that I would be on this list of patients to be seen,” says Lapointe. Though she was told to expect a call in September or October, she has yet to hear from the clinic.
Lapointe had been off work after her stroke, and had just started a return to work plan when Dr. Wall closed her practice. “I had nobody to follow me,” says Lapointe, “and it did not go well.” She’s now off work again, waiting to heal more before she makes another attempt to return.
“It’s very scary wondering what’s going to happen,” says Lapointe. “My return to work is scary as well, knowing that it didn’t go so well the first time, and that I don’t have anybody to support the return to work process.”
Due to the clinic’s “don’t call us, we’ll call you” policy, patients like Lapointe have no way to get in touch to report a change in their situation, or even confirm that they are indeed on the list. Only recently has the clinic started to accept incoming calls, and those currently go to a voicemail, with a warning that only messages from current patients will be returned.
It’s a stressful situation for Lapointe. “It’s like, you need to let me know where I stand,” she says. “The not knowing is the worst part… They at least need to let people know when can we expect to be seen, because if not, we’ve got to find other ways.”
Spokesperson Kris McDavid says Horizon is “asking Tantramar residents to be patient, as there may be delays due to the clinic’s current capacity.” He also says that “recruitment efforts are ongoing” in an effort to expand that capacity.
With just two part-time physicians so far, and a growing list of orphaned patients (Horizon won’t say how many), the situation in local primary care is desperate. Basically, Sackville needs doctors. And after the recent exodus of primary care providers, that appears to be proving challenging.
Living without medications
Another former patient of Dr Wall is facing a similar plight to Lapointe. CHMA agreed not to use this person’s name due to an unresolved medical claim with Worksafe NB, but we’ll call her Angela Smith.
Smith suffered a debilitating injury in 2016, and is on a series of medications, including controlled substances. Due to her complex injury, Smith had a very close relationship with her doctor, whom she saw on a monthly basis for the past seven years. “At one point in time, we were seeing each other on a weekly basis because of where I was with my injuries and surgeries,” says Smith. “She was very key to my… everything, I guess.”
While Dr. Wall arranged for prescriptions to cover her orphaned patients, an error with Smith’s prescriptions has left her short. Smith has been trying to make use of other resources like 811, evisitNB, and NB Health Link, but she hits a wall when it comes to her pain medication, because those care providers don’t have access to her medical history, which is now housed at the new clinic, where she’s on the waiting list. She has also visited the ER for help, but prescription renewal is low priority in an ER, and so her waits have been fruitless.
Recently Smith visited the clinic in person and was able to find out she will be waiting until at least spring to get the call. She’s now staring down the prospect of the next few months without all her medication, something which impacts her quality of life “every day.”
The lucky 700
There are also good news stories coming out of the new clinic, specifically from some of the 700 patients who have received their call, and had their first appointment with a new medical practitioner.
Local patient Eileen Beal was surprised to see her former doctor Catherine Johnston on her first appointment. Johnston retired from her practice and is now one of the two part-time doctors holding down the fort at the Tantramar Community Health Centre primary care clinic. The other is Dr. Sara Thomas, who works virtually at the clinic, in addition to duties at Mount Allison and a community gender affirming care clinic she offers.
Beal says her experience with the new clinic has been positive so far, and she already has a follow up appointment to go over prescription refills. She says Dr. Johnston informed her that she might not always be seeing the same doctor at the clinic, which is fine with Beal as long as she can get the medication she needs, from a reliable practitioner. Horizon says the goal is for patients to see the same provider, unless they are not available due to vacation or illness, in which case other providers can step in.
Another new clinic patient, Janet Hammock, says her first experience with Dr. Sara Thomas was positive, though she found it frustrating to not be able to call the clinic throughout the fall, and also has had difficulty getting an appointment for a recent medical issue. Hammock says the clinic needs someone to answer the phone, and a clear protocol for requesting appointments. And of course, it also needs more practitioners.
“I’d like to see the clinic expanded,” says Hammock, “so that all of the people without doctors around here have access to make appointments.” Hammock says she feels lucky to be on the roster at the new primary care clinic, and is concerned that so many are still without a provider.
“I’m one who thinks that a lot is to be said for having a really good, fully-functioning clinic here,” says Hammock, “but we don’t have that yet. And we have lots and lots of people who have nobody.”
Horizon says it is actively recruiting staff. The website sackvillehealthcarejobs.ca has postings for family physicians, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses. There’s also a posting for an anesthesiologist to work in the day surgery program at the Sackville memorial Hospital. There’s still no posting for any nurse practitioners, though Kris McDavid says there is an “internal posting process” currently in-progress, and any positions that remain unfilled once that process concludes will be posted externally.
With orphaned patients from four now-closed practices, and many more who were already without a primary care provider, it could be a long road before Horizon’s new Tantramar clinic lives up to its potential.
