The Corner Brook doctor is quitting his practice, citing burnout and failed government efforts to retain him

A Corner Brook family physician is resigning and closing her practice next month, saying she is overworked and overwhelmed by an ongoing shortage of primary care physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Melissa O'Brien has been a doctor in her hometown since 2011 and believes the provincial government must now do more to support health care professionals like her.

“It's heartbreaking. It's the hardest decision I've ever had to make in medicine,” O'Brien says, holding back tears as she stands in one of her clinic rooms at Medical on Second in the Veitch Wellness Center.

O'Brien and several other physicians opened the practice for a fee several years ago. Although closing her practice is not something she wants, she feels like she has no other choice.

'It creates feelings of guilt. You hear from these seniors, these 95 year olds that you consider them your father, and you tell them that he has always had a doctor. And he won't have a doctor for the first time in 60 years and it breaks your heart.

“And you think about the young children who have to sit in the emergency room and wait for hours to be seen for something that you would just put them in your clinic for,” she said.

Can't compete

O'Brien has been actively looking for a replacement, someone who could take over her practice and her patients. She failed to find anyone.

She says she cannot compete with the NL Health Services incentives and bonuses that the government is now handing out.

She believes that encouraging physicians to move to certain communities is the wrong approach, and that more emphasis should be placed on retention, not just recruitment.

“The community clinics that work so hard to maintain primary care for their patients are being ignored,” she said.

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A Corner Brook doctor is closing her practice, blaming the government's hiring practices

Dr. Melissa O'Brien says her decision to close her medical practice in Corner Brook on December 17 is “heartbreaking.” She says she feels there is no support from the provincial government to help doctors like herself. The CBC's Colleen Connors has the full story.

The Ministry of Health disagrees with O'Brien, saying in a statement to CBC that it is committed to supporting family medicine physicians and addressing administrative burdens like those she faces.

O'Brien says she works all day at her family medicine clinic and then handles paperwork at home late into the night. She says the amount of administrative work in family medicine right now is astronomical.

“I have two kids. I put the kids to bed and I'm back at work on my computer until midnight or after. And it never ends. I don't think that's thought about very often,” she said.

O'Brien tried a hands-on approach, sharing the patient's needs with another GP, but that didn't last long.

“It unfortunately came to a standstill. Incentives were offered for more competitive positions elsewhere within NL Health Services, and the physician I was going to practice with chose a more competitive option,” O'Brien said.

The Department of Health proposed the practice approach that O'Brien tried without success.

In Corner Brook, a new primary care physician looking to join a practice or take over O'Brien's patients can take advantage of a $150,000 incentive under the Family Practice Start Up Program, plus a two-year income guarantee.

O'Brien will close her practice on December 17. She will continue to work part-time at the cancer clinic and hospital, depending on need.

“I feel like I didn't have much choice when it comes to the future of family medicine,” she said. “It's hard.”

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