The provincial government has to employ crisis management in order to address the province’s doctor shortage.

NLMA President Dr. Susan MacDonald says the situation in many areas is dire with no solution in site.

The very last physicians in Fogo, Harbour Breton, Baie Verte and Buchans have all tendered their resignation, while St. Alban’s has already lost it’s last doctor.

MacDonald says the workload is being downloaded onto fewer physicians as older doctors retire, making the workload untenable. She’s heard stories from physicians who have been approached by patients desperate for basic services.

In communities that are down to one physician, there are a lot of people who they simply can’t see, says MacDonald, meaning doctors are often approached by people in the grocery store or at the gas station begging to get their prescriptions filled or to book bloodwork or a mammogram.