DRHC adjusts to loss of both general surgeons
By Chris MarchandThe Dryden Regional Health Centre (DRHC) is searching for new general surgeons after Dr. Peter Dawes recently announced his intention to leave the community.Dr. Peter Dawes will leaving his practice at the Dryden Regional Health Centre effective Sept. 30, to begin a position with Prince County Hospital in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.Dawes closely follows DRHC’s only other general surgeon, Dr. Bahram Shahi who announced his intention to leave the community in May.DRHC CEO Wade Petranik says that general surgeries account for approximately one-quarter of the hospital’s surgical activity — the remainder is occupied by specialist procedures like orthopaedic, gynecology, ear, nose and throat as well as a new reconstructive element.Petranik adds that 80 per cent of general surgeries are endoscopic in nature, such as colonoscopies and don’t often require general anesthetic.“In terms of impact in the short term, we’re looking at providing some locum services — we’re speaking right now with surgeons who regularly go from community to community, spending three or four days,” said Petranik. “Overall, we don’t feel that the service will be impacted to a huge degree.”Addressing emergency situations, Petranik says emergency general surgery is reasonably rare in Dryden.“You might have a major trauma from a traffic accident where the general surgeon can help stabilize the patient, but generally we ship them out anyway,” he said. “The most common emergency surgery is an appendectomy. We do have surgeons on call in the region that we can access, if no one else is available to do the surgery. They would be sent to the nearest regional surgeon.”Dr. Kerri Wilson will continue to perform caesarean section births at DRHC.In the long term, Petranik says DRHC has some promising prospects for recruitment.“We’ve had a lot of interest already from doctors who’ve wanted to take a look,” he said. “We had a site visit this week with a potential candidate, so we’re excited about that and Chuck (Schmitt) is getting lots of inquiries. We’re optimistic that in the longer term we’ll have an onsite service like we had before, but there are no guarantees. We really have to find the best fit for the community and the surgeon’s interests — between what they like to do and what kind of practice they’d like to have.”Dr. Dawes says he has enjoyed working with the operating room staff at the Dryden Regional Health Centre for the past eight years. “The operating room staff at the Hospital are terrific. It has been one of the best surgical teams that I have had the pleasure of working with throughout my surgical career. I will miss all of them tremendously. However at this point in my career, the position in Prince Edward Island is the best option for me and my family, says Dr. Dawes.” Until Sept. 30, Dr. Dawes will be working to accommodate those patients currently booked for consultations and surgery.New cases are expected to be handled through locum visits or referred outside of the community.
By Chris Marchand
