Residents of Bell Island who were successful in wooing a beloved physician back to the local clinic—at least temporarily—say the clock is ticking and they want to know if negotiations with Eastern Health have met with success.

Over the course of just a few months, Bell Island lost all three of its physicians, leaving the community without a single doctor.

Residents launched a social media campaign—dubbed the Grand Seduction after a film of a similar name—and were successful in getting Dr. Faris Ayar back to the community on an eleven-week locum.

The rest, according to Ken Kavanagh who helped launch the campaign, was up to Eastern Health to negotiate with the good doctor.

The locum ends later this month and they’re looking for a positive update from the health authority.

He says the community is less than two weeks away from Dr. Ayar leaving Bell Island for the second time.

VOCM News has reached out to Eastern Health for an update on the situation.