Hampton clinic launches new patient registration initiative
The new Hampton Medical Centre is now accepting in-person patient registration from residents who don’t have a family physician or nurse practitioner.
The news was shared last week by Hampton-Fundy-St. Martins MLA John Herron on a social media post.
According to the post, the registration process is available to residents whose postal codes begin with E5N or E5T, covering the town of Hampton and parts of the village of Valley Waters.
To register, residents must provide a valid Medicare card and proof of residency.
The town currently has over 1,500 residents without a primary care provider.
Last month, the centre officially opened with provincial funding support and added three physicians, bringing its total to six, to eliminate the local waitlist within the next 12 to 18 months.
The clinic’s office manager, Shawnnah Staples, said in an email statement Wednesday that while it’s too early to predict how much this approach will shorten their initial timeline, they are optimistic it will help streamline the process.
“This initiative allows us to take a more proactive approach to identifying and registering eligible patients, potentially reducing administrative delays, and improving the efficiency of patient attachment,” she explained.
So far, this latest initiative has brought in over 300 registrations, which the clinic will cross-reference with the NB Health-Link waitlist throughout next week to identify those who have been waiting the longest and ensure they are considered throughout the process, Staples said.
She said that it’s important to recognize that this initiative builds on the significant work already underway at the medical centre.
Staples said approximately 4,000 patients are connected to Dr. Douglas Hall, Dr. Cory Dickson and Dr. Scott Fenwick, while the newer physicians have taken on approximately 1,500 patients transitioning from other practices, along with hundreds of previously unattached patients since July.
She added there is no established deadline to register as a patient at this time.
Acadia Broadcasting also asked whether the clinic had considered helping Hampton seniors and residents with mobility challenges who are currently attached to providers in nearby communities, such as Saint John, Rothesay and Quispamsis, transfer their care closer to home. However, Staples said the initiative is limited to people without a primary care provider.
The initial post reminds residents that the registration is not a medical appointment.
Eligible individuals will receive a new patient registration package. Once completed and returned, they can schedule an initial “meet-and-greet” appointment.
Acadia Broadcasting asked the Department of Health whether other collaborative care clinics plan to introduce similar initiatives and why the Hampton clinic adopted the approach.
The department did not directly answer those questions. However, spokesperson Tara Chislett said in an email statement collaborative care clinics are structured to meet the needs of individual communities.
“We know that every region and community is unique, with different health-care needs,” she said. “Collaborative care clinics are a flexible solution, and each clinic is uniquely structured to meet the needs of their region.”
