A longtime family doctor in Summerside says she is leaving the province, and it all comes down to how Health P.E.I. is treating family physicians.

Dr. Heather Austin, who has practised family medicine in Summerside since 2011, announced she will close her practice and move back to Nova Scotia by the summer of 2028.

In a public letter, she described the decision as one made “with significant deliberation and heartache.” Over the past 18 months, she wrote, working in P.E.I.’s health-care system has become increasingly difficult. She said she cannot continue working for a health authority that treats her and her colleagues “with such ignorant disrespect.”

“Being a family physician is a choice. We go into this work to provide service to the population, and we do put our heart and soul into the work that we do. We care about our patients,” Austin told CBC News on Monday.

“The biggest impact is how it has made it harder for me to do the work that I love to do.”

Austin is one of three P.E.I. doctors who have recently informed Health P.E.I. they are leaving their practices.

CBC News requested an interview with Health P.E.I., which instead sent a statement from Chief Medical Officer Dr. Johan Viljoen. 

“To strengthen collaboration, the Health P.E.I. board is establishing an advisory panel to hear directly from primary care providers,” the statement reads.

“Health P.E.I. is working under the agreement approved by the Medical Society of P.E.I. and respects its role representing physicians, while continuing to listen and improve how the agreement is implemented.”

In a separate statement, Health P.E.I.’s board of directors said it recognizes the importance of maintaining open dialogue as implementation of the Physician Services Agreement (PSA) — the province’s contract with doctors — continues. 

It said the advisory panel would convene by the end of March and conclude by Aug. 31, and will be made up of “Health P.E.I. publicly-appointed board members.”

Implementation of PSA fell short, doctor says

The Physician Services Agreement was signed in 2024 by the Department of Health, Health P.E.I. and the Medical Society of P.E.I. 

Austin said doctors were initially optimistic, calling the PSA “an excellent document.” But she said the issue is not the agreement itself, it’s how Health P.E.I. has implemented it.

She said the intention was for the three parties to roll the agreement out collaboratively, but Health P.E.I. has instead acted as though it’s the “sole proprietor.”

“The approach that they have taken has demonstrated to me that they don’t understand my work and their implementation approach would be a barrier to me providing good care to my patients,” she said. “They have not listened to our advice.”

Earlier in 2025, tensions escalated when physicians raised concerns about a new operational guide contained in the PSA. The medical society even threatened legal action.

The parties entered mediation and, in December 2025, signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at settling the dispute.

Under the MOA, doctors can choose between different patient roster models: Model A, with 1,600 patients, or Model B, with 1,300.

Austin said concerns still exist about how the memorandum is being put into practice, particularly around a metric in Model B that’s meant to count not only face-to-face patient visits, but also other work family doctors do — administrative tasks, collaboration and other duties.

She said many physicians immediately had specific questions about how the metric would be calculated, noting that their work varies widely depending on their individual practices and patient needs.

“We did not feel that the health authority understood those questions and was unable to provide us with satisfactory answers to those questions,” Austin said.

“We’re still in that same position.”

She said doctors were told by Health P.E.I. that the first year of the agreement will focus on “information gathering.” But she said the data collection itself adds to an already heavy administrative burden.

“Gathering the information is a distraction and a problem for us, because it’s … administrative work that’s taking us away from time we could be spending taking care of our patients,” Austin said.

Family physicians already spend significant time on paperwork, she said, like ordering tests, reviewing results, responding to specialist letters, advocating for patients and navigating the health system on their behalf.

On top of managing a large patient panel, Austin also delivers babies, works in the hospital, assists in the operating room and teaches residents and medical students.

She estimates she spends two to three hours a day on administrative work alone. Evenings and weekends are often used to catch up.

CBC News requested an interview with officials from the Department of Health and Wellness, but was provided with a statement from P.E.I. Health Minister Cory Deagle. 

Deagle said he and Premier Rob Lantz met with Austin and other family physicians late last week to discuss their concerns. 

“We are carefully reviewing the matters raised and determining the appropriate steps to move this work forward,” the statement reads.

‘Final nail in the coffin’

Austin said that when she formally submitted her resignation to Health P.E.I., she had hoped someone from the health authority might reach out to ask why she was leaving or what could persuade her to stay.

“None of that happened,” she said, calling it “the final nail in the coffin.”

Austin said her decision to leave in 2028 is firm. She plans to remain in Summerside until then, gradually reducing her patient load before moving to Nova Scotia.

Austin said she still believes the Physician Services Agreement could work if it’s implemented as originally intended — collaboratively and with meaningful input from doctors.

“I am an eternal optimist, and I hope that the action that I’ve taken will spur government to action [and] that they will hold the health authority accountable for what they have done to us,” she said.

To her patients and the broader public, she has one message.

“Please don’t be quiet. Have your voices heard, because that’s what’s going to make a difference.”