Two doctors have been hired to work at the Stella-Maris de Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, according to the Vitalité Health Network. One of them will arrive in September, the other will be there next summer.
The doctor expected at the hospital this fall is an emergency physician. The other doctor who will arrive in the summer of 2025 is a hospitalist, according to the authority.
“We are still waiting for confirmation, but two other doctors could also join us in the summer of 2025,” says Vitalité’s communications department. These two doctors are also hospitalists.
The acute care beds at this hospital were transferred to the Dr.-Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital in January due to a lack of doctors.
In June, Dr. France Desrosiers told L’Acadie Nouvelle that she aims to re-establish this service by the fall.
Although the doctor who will arrive at the hospital in September is not a hospitalist, the authority is still aiming to re-establish this service at Kent County Hospital by the fall, without being able to give a specific date.
The hospital has been hit by service disruptions over the summer. Most recently, the facility was closed over the weekend of July 27 and 28 due to a shortage of medical staff.
“It’s positive,” says Kent North MP Kevin Arseneau about the hiring. He tempers, however, that “there is still work to be done.”
“We agree that we could have seen this labour crisis coming, so there have been escapes in the past. We must recognize this, while encouraging the fact that we are currently recruiting,” he said.
Benoît Bourque, MP for Kent-Sud, agrees.
“It’s clearly positive for the hospital. It’s certainly a good start, but we need to do more, not only in relation to the [recrutement] of doctors, but also in relation to the recruitment of nurses,” he says.
