Medical centre in Madoc is looking for a doctor

By Kate Shumakova

BELLEVILLE  – While Quinte Health Care is cutting 39 jobs from local hospitals, a medical centre in Madoc is trying to attract a doctor for a position that unexpectedly opened in January.

Centre Hastings Councillor Eric Sandford announced on Jan.14 that a well-known physician at the Tri-Area Medical Centre in Madoc had retired.

Dr. Janet Yorston had been working with the Centre Hastings Family Health Team since 2006 and had more than 1,000 patients.

Centre Hastings Mayor Tom Deline said that Yorston had promised the municipality to work there for 10 years, and ended up staying for 12.

“There was a tremendous driving force towards the facility that we’ve got here,” Deline said, referring to the Tri-Area medical building, opened in 2009. “And as mayor of the community, I’m very proud of it.”

The mayor said that the Centre Hastings community is very fortunate to have the Family Health Team, which provides the services of family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social workers, dietitians and other professionals.

The other three doctors working at the medical centre “have stepped forward to take up as much of the slack as possible” since Yorston’s retirement, Deline said. The health team and the municipality are working with Hastings County to try to attract a new doctor.

Deline added that he hopes to see a new doctor very soon, possibly within the next month:

Mary Stuart, the administrator of the medical centre, said the team is trying to manage the situation and serve as many patients as possible.

“We’ve been very successful regarding taking care of patients in the current situation,” she said.