After a longtime PEI travel health clinic closed over the summer, the people behind a new one now operating in Charlottetown are hoping to fill the void it left.
Before him left his practice in july Dr Ray Cook has run a travel vaccination service at the Charlottetown Polyclinic for several years. It and the tourist health clinic Murphy’s Pharmacy in Parkdale were the only two places in the province designated as yellow fever vaccination centers.
Amy Bullns, a registered nurse who runs the new clinic at the Travel Store on North River Road, said the closing has left a gap when it comes to travel advice and information about vaccinations.
“It’s something we definitely felt was necessary for Islanders, especially now that everyone wants to get out and travel,” she said.
Amy Bullns, a registered nurse working at The Travel Clinic, says she hopes the clinic will help ease the pressure on family doctors and provide patients with travel health advice. (Shane Hennessy/CBC)
Cook turned over his files and other information, Bullness said, as well as the phone number of the previous clinic.
The clinic began enrolling for the first time in early December. Bulnes said he now books more than four or five appointments a day.
We hope we’re taking a little off their plates as they’re obviously very busy.—Amy Bullns
“It was crazy. The phone was ringing,” she said.
Many of the people seeking appointments don’t have family doctors or haven’t been able to get an appointment with them in time to travel, Bulnes said. It’s a problem she expects to continue, especially as family doctors remain in high demand.
“Hopefully we’re taking a little bit away from them because they’re obviously very busy,” Bullness said.
High demand for doctors
Randy McKinnon, a family physician who helps oversee the clinic at the Travel Store, said he also hopes the clinic will take the pressure off busy primary care doctors and nurse practitioners.
Dr. Randy McKinnon says it can sometimes be a challenge for patients to book an appointment with their family doctor in time to get their travel shots. (Submitted by Randy McKinnon)
“As family physicians, there is always a high demand in our offices to see everyone,” he said.
McKinnon said she often hears patients making travel plans say it can be a challenge to make appointments with their doctors on time.
That creates a problem for some travel vaccines, he said. The usual travel vaccine against hepatitis A and hepatitis B, called Twinrix, requires three doses – and two of them must be given before the start of travel.
Twinrix is available in several pharmacies on the Island as well as in the clinic. As with all travel vaccines, the patient pays a fee to receive it.
Advance booking is recommended
MacKinnon said the new clinic can help travelers get their vaccinations on time, but there is another benefit.
“There’s a big education piece that’s also provided to residents who come to the travel clinic,” he said, including travel health and safety information.
The doctor said he recommends people book their appointments earlier rather than later to avoid delays.
Bulnes said with the high volume of patients so far, scheduling appointments can sometimes be a challenge.
She encouraged people traveling to book an appointment a month in advance to ensure maximum immunity, although they can still vaccinate people two weeks before travel.
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