Bell Island has had its share of troubles this summer with the ferry system, but it is now facing a serious crunch on the medical front.
The island has been coping with only one ferry for much of the summer but things were looking up when the Flanders came out of drydock last week. It went back in drydock as quickly as it came out leaving just the Beaumont Hamel on the Tickle for the foreseeable. Wabana Mayor Gary Gosine says it’s been a trying time for those who need to cross for work, medical appointments and other needs.
In just a few weeks, Bell Island will lose two of its three physicians, leaving just one physician for a population of approximately 2,700 people.
Gosine says three doctors and six registered nurses are needed to keep the hospital running. He says there needs to be an incentive to get doctors to practice on Bell Island as relying on the ferry system to bring people back and forth to St. John’s for care is not an option.
I am the pharmacist in charge of the sole community pharmacy on Bell Island. Two of our three physicians are leaving our community of ~2700 people (mostly seniors) at the end of the month. Bell Island has very high rates of CV disease and diabetes.
— Kara O'Keefe (@kara_okeefe) September 1, 2021
A pharmacist in charge of the sole pharmacy on Bell Island took to Twitter to share her concerns with two doctors leaving the community.
Kara O’Keefe says it is well within her skill set to manage patient’s high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. She says her community will suffer because she cannot exercise her full scope of practice in the province.
