2,000 patients affected as Charlottetown family doctor retires, another to close practice

PEICharlottetown has recently lost one family doctor, and another will soon be closing her practice, the province’s health agency told CBC News.Departures come at a time when more than 35,000 have no primary care providerThinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Sep 08, 2025 12:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoDr. Edith Peacock, who practised out of the Sherwood Medical Centre, retired in mid-August after more than 20 years of service. (Steve Bruce/CBC)P.E.I.’s capital city has recently lost one family doctor, and another will soon be closing her practice, the province’s health agency told CBC News.Dr. Budimka Oroz has notified Health P.E.I. that she will close her practice at the Queen Street Medical Centre at the end of September.Oroz, who had a lengthy medical career in Ontario before moving to the Island, currently has about 1,100 patients, according to the agency.Meanwhile, Dr. Edith Peacock, who practised out of the Sherwood Medical Centre, retired in mid-August after more than 20 years of service. She had about 900 patients.”Health P.E.I. would like to thank both Dr. Peacock and Dr. Oroz for their dedicated service to their patients and the Island health-care system,” the health authority said.”Health P.E.I. continues to recruit health-care workers — including physicians and nurse practitioners — both close to home and abroad, with the goal of increasing access to primary care.” About 1 in 5 Islanders have no family doctorThe agency said at this time, there is no primary-care professional to take over the two doctors’ practices. Both notified their patients, provided information on how to access primary care, and directed them to the Provincial Patient Registry.Islanders who have lost their provider can sign up for the registry to be placed on the waitlist for a new family doctor or nurse practitioner.By joining the registry, patients also gain free access to virtual care through Maple. Walk-in clinics are available across the province for non-urgent care.As of Aug. 31, more than 35,300 people were on the patient registry, representing about one in five Islanders.With files from Jackie Sharkey